Before West Side Story was a highly successful Hollywood musical, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, it was a highly successful Broadway musical. Based on the Montagues and Capulets from Romeo and Juliet, the Sharks and the Jets hold a vicious feud with each other on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Natalie Wood was cast as Maria, the leading lady of the film. She worked hard to rehearse all the songs, and was especially excited to sing Stephen Sondheim's lyrics. But, behind her back, producers brought in a woman named Marni Nixon to re-dub all of Wood's songs.
Wood would record her version of the number, then the producers would tell her she's doing a wonderful job. Then, they'd call Nixon into the studio to do it all over again. Did you know that it wasn't Wood's real voice?
In these clips, Marni Nixon's voice has been removed, leaving Natalie Wood's original rendition of the songs. To be honest, she's really not all that bad… I've certainly heard worse! What do you think? Should they have left her original voice in the film? Or did the producers make the right choice?
Either way, they could have gone about the whole process with a little less deception, but that's Hollywood for you, I suppose. Can you imagine the disappointment when Wood found out she'd been replaced?
Stick around for the end, and you'll hear Russ Tamblyn's own voice, too!
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