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Splendor in the Grass

1961 film by Elia Kazan

Splendor in the Grass is a 1961 film about a fragile Kansas girl's forbidden love for a handsome young man from the town's most powerful family that drives her to heartbreak and madness.

Natalie Wood as Deanie Loomis
Directed by Elia Kazan. Written by William Inge.
A LOVE STORY UNLIKE ANY OTHERS !! taglines

Deanie Loomis

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  • [voiceover, quoting Wordsworth's Ode: Intimations of Immortality]
    Though nothing can bring back the hour
    Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower,
    We will grieve not; rather find
    Strength in what remains behind.

Mrs. Loomis

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  • You know, it would be nice if children could be born into this world with an absolute guarantee that they were going to have just the right kind of bringing up and all lead happy, normal lives. Well, I guess when we get born, we just all have to take our chances.

Dialogue

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Mrs. Loomis: What were you and Bud doing all this time, for Heaven's sake?
Deanie: We were stu—udying together. [Awkward, suspicious pause.] I'm going to bed, Mom; I'm awful tired.
Mrs. Loomis: Deanie. Now, Wilma Dean.
[Deanie sighs]
Mrs. Loomis: Deanie. I want to talk to you. Now, Wilma Dean, Bud Stamper could get you into a whole lot of trouble—and you know how I mean. Boys don't respect a girl they can go all the way with: boys want a nice girl for a wife. Wilma Dean, you and Bud haven't gone too far already, have you?
Deanie: No, Mother.
Mrs. Loomis: Tell me the truth, Wilma Dean.
Deanie: No, Mom; we haven't gone too far.
Mrs. Loomis: That's a relief.
Deanie: Mom.
Mrs. Loomis: Mhm?
Deanie: Is it so terrible to have those feelings about a boy?
Mrs. Loomis: No nice girl does.
Deanie: Doesn't she?
Mrs. Loomis: No. No nice girl.
Deanie: But, Mom, didn't—didn't you ever—well, I mean didn't you ever feel that way about Dad?
Mrs. Loomis: Your father never laid a hand on me until we were married. And, then, I—I just gave in because a wife has to. A woman doesn't enjoy those things the way a man does. She just lets her husband come near her in order to have children. [Deanie stands with her back toward her mother] Deanie, what's troubling you?
Deanie: Oh, nothing, Mom.
Mr. Stamper: Been out with that little Loomis girl?
Bud: Yes, Sir. I—I'm—
Mr. Stamper: She's watchin' herself with you now, ain't she, Son? You—you're not doin' anything, Boy, you're gonna be ashamed of, are you?
Bud: Oh; no, Sir. I—I tell you, what I—
Mr. Stamper: Oh, she's a nice kid, Son; she's a good-looker. I known her folks ever since—well, old Dell and I were boys together. I got nothin' against 'em, Bud, 'cause they're poor; I'm not a snob or anything like that: the only difference between me and Dell is that I got ambition.
[Bud chuckles]
Mr. Stamper: But, if—
Bud: Well, Dad I—
Mr. Stamper: —if anything was to happen, you'd have to marry her. You—you'd have to marry her, Son; you realize that, don't you?
Bud: Uh—
Mr. Stamper: You get a girl in trouble and you gotta take the consequences.
Bud: You're nuts about me, aren't you? You're nuts about me....[After making out a while, he begins to touch her below the waist]
Deanie: No, Bud...
Bud: [He pushes her down to her knees in front of him.] At my feet, slave.
Deanie: Bud, don't.
Bud: Tell me you love me.
Deanie: Bud, you're hurting me.
Bud: Tell me you can't live without me. Say it.
Deanie: I do.
Bud: You do what?
Deanie: I do love you.
Bud: And you can't live without me...And you'd do anything I'd ever ask you, anything.
Deanie: [fearfully] I-I'd do anything for you.
Bud: Deanie, I didn't mean to hurt you. Deanie, Deanie! Deanie, I was just kidding. Look, I'm the one who should go down on his knees to you, Deanie. Deanie, I was just kidding. I thought you knew that.
Deanie: I can't kid about these things. Because I am nuts about you, and I would go down on my knees to worship you if you really wanted me to. Bud, I can't get along without you. And I would do anything you'd ask me to. I would! I would! Anything!
Bud: Dad, I'm gonna marry Deanie.
Mr. Stamper: Whoa now, Son.
Bud: I don't really want to go to Yale. I'm not a very good student.
Mr. Stamper: What do you mean you're not a good student? Boy, you can do anything you set your mind to do.
Bud: I'd like to go away to a good agricultural college for a couple of years. I'd really like to do that, Dad. I could come right back here and I could take over your ranch just south of town.
Mr. Stamper: Ranching's no life.
Bud: I could marry Deanie. I could take her off to college with me. That's what I really want. She'd be a big help to me, Dad.
Mr. Stamper: I spent my life trying to create a place of importance for you in this world then you come home telling me you want to marry some little girl!
Bud: It's what I want that counts.
Mr. Stamper: Son, a boy your age doesn't even know what he wants. After you've had a college education, then you might change your mind.
Bud: A college education will take me four years.
Mr. Stamper: Trust me.
Bud: I do trust you, but--
Mr. Stamper: Trust me, trust me this time, son.
Bud: I trust you, Dad. I do trust you, but four years--
Mr. Stamper: Listen to me now.
Bud: But, Dad...
Mr. Stamper: Son, all I'm asking you to do is to finish Yale. And then if you still want to marry the li'l Loomis girl, you come back here and you marry her, boy, with my blessing. I'll send you both off to Europe for a honeymoon. Bud, please wait, son!
Bud: I just don't know if I can, Dad! I feel like I'm going nuts sometimes.
Mr. Stamper: I understand, Son. Your old man understands, Son. What you need for the time being is a different kind of girl. When I was a boy, son, there was always two kinds of girls. Us boys - we-we'd never even mention them in the same breath. But every now and then, one of us boys'd sneak off with a girl - and we'd get a little steam outa our system.
Bud: Dad, Dad, no girl looks good to me except Deanie.
Mr. Stamper: I know.
Bud: I love her, Dad!
Mr. Stamper: I know, son, I know!
Bud: See, I don't want to do that. OK. I'll go to Yale. But I want you to know that I'm gonna marry her as soon as I get out. That's a promise.
Mr. Stamper: I want you to remember that.
Ginny: Why don't you quit trying to pretend you're so pure and righteous?
Bud: If you weren't my sister--
Ginny: If I weren't your sister, you wouldn't do anything. You never do anything except what Dad tells you. Isn't that right, Deanie? You been finding that out, haven't you? He just lets things torment him inside and make him miserable and he never does anything about them. He never does anything.
Bud: I'm pretty nuts about Deanie Loomis.
Doc Smiley: I don't blame you.
Bud: I mean, I love her. And she loves me. But it's no fun to be in love. It hurts. Every time that we're together I have to remember things. You know what I mean?
Doc Smiley: Oh, yes.
Bud: I just can't go back to seeing her again. Not like the way we were doing. We'd go out every night and I'd hold her and I'd kiss her and...I'd just go home. I mean, a guy can go nuts that way.
Doc Smiley: I don't know how to advise you, Bud.
BUd: My dad said that I should get another kind of a girl. But when you don't really want another girl...I don't know.
Mrs. Loomis: What's been the matter the past few days?
Deanie: I'm sorry I've troubled you. I don't want to worry you. I don't want to worry anyone.
Mrs. Loomis: Is it all on account of...because of Bud? Because he doesn't call for you anymore?
Deanie: I don't know. I don't know, Mom.
Mrs. Loomis: I have a mind to call that boy and tell him....
Deanie: Don't you dare! Don't you dare, Mom! Don't you dare! Don't you dare!...No, Mom! Momma, if you do something like that, I'll do something desperate! I will, I will, Mom! I will!
Mrs. Loomis: Deanie, how serious had you and Bud become? I mean, well, you know what I mean. Deanie - had he - had anything serious happened? Did he - did he spoil you?
Deanie: Spoil??? Did he spoil me? No. No, Mom! I'm not spoiled! I'm not spoiled, Mom! I'm just as fresh and I'm virginal like the day I was born, Mom!
Mrs. Loomis: Stop it! Stop it!
Deanie: I'm a lovely virginal creature who wouldn't think of being spoiled! I've been a good little girl, Mom! I've been a good little, good little, good little girl! I've always done everything Daddy and Mommy tell me. I've obeyed every word. I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!
Deanie: [making sexual advances] Bud, please Bud, please.
Bud: Deanie, cut it out.
Deanie: Now, Bud.
Bud: Deanie, you're a nice girl.
Deanie: I'm not. I'm not a nice girl.
Bud: Come on, cut it out.
Deanie: I just can't go on like this anymore.
Bud: Now come on, Deanie, we're gonna go back inside.
Deanie: No.
Bud: Come on.
Deanie: No. I don't want to go back inside...I wanna stay here with you...I want you.
Bud: This isn't the way it should be.
Deanie: Why? Why not? Why not? Why don't you, Bud? Why don't you?
Bud: Deanie, you're not yourself. Deanie, where's your pride?
Deanie: My pride? MY PRIDE!! [He slaps her face as she becomes hysterical]
Bud: Stop it, Deanie! Stop!
Deanie: Oh, God. I haven't any pride. I HAVEN'T ANY PRIDE!
Bud: Oh God, Deanie, what am I gonna do with you? [He hugs her]
Deanie: I don't care what you do. I don't care what happens. I haven't any pride. I just want to die. I just want to die.
Bud: I married Angie when I left New Haven. You know I didn't even finish my first year there?
Deanie: She's real nice.
Bud: She was wonderful to me when things started to go wrong.
Deanie: You're happy, Bud?
Bud: I guess so. I don't ask myself that question very often now. How about you?
Deanie: I'm getting married next month.
Bud: Are you, Deanie?
Deanie: A boy from Cincinnati. I think you might like him.
Bud: Things work out awful funny sometimes, don't they?
Deanie: Yes, they do.
Bud: Hope you're gonna be awful happy.
Deanie: Like you, Bud, I don't think too much about happiness either.
Bud: What's the point? You gotta take what comes.

Taglines

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  • A LOVE STORY UNLIKE ANY OTHERS !!
  • It's unrelenting moments, Its tragedies and splendors!
  • There is a miracle in being young...and a fear.

Cast

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