West Side Story

The book West Side Story was released in 2003, over forty years after the release of the 1961 film (Wise, Robbins). It is a small, well-made artefact with thick paper and a slight tear on the back cover, reflective of its multiple owners, as suggested by the pencil inscription of £3. The cover of the book itself features the famous fire escape image and typography with two silhouetted dancers beside it. This companion book, which details the making of the film, follows a linear progression from pre-production through to the publicity and reviews. With its release in 2003, two years after the fortieth anniversary of the film, the book was made for a pre-existing fan base but is rooted in the iconography of the Golden Age of Hollywood, a period which is generally defined as between 1930 and 1960 (Garcia 26).

During the Golden Age of Hollywood, five major studios, MGM, Paramount, Fox, Warner Bros, and RKO dominated the production of motion pictures from casting to exhibition (Heckman). It is a period which is often remembered for its ‘glitz and glamour’ (Heckman), which is evident in this artefact. Through its style and content, this artefact is a valuable resource for exploring how companion books target pre-existing fans by evoking nostalgia for a past decade.

The book opens with a personal letter from the screenwriter Ernest Lehman, from October 2002. Lehman describes how he acquired the role of screenwriter and the difficulties he faced when writing the script.  The anecdotal style of the letter figuratively places the 2003 companion book within the 1960s, by including nostalgic accounts of the films production. The style of the artefact, like the golden typography and border on the cover, evokes further nostalgia for the 1961 film, with such colour palettes reflective of the ‘glamour’ associated with Golden Age Hollywood (Heckman). With an aim to celebrate the musical, this artefact was created to entice pre-existing fans to invest in the book by using anecdotes and iconography that are reminders of the film’s 1960s Hollywood context.  

Following the letter, the book contains a detailed timeline of West Side Story’s transformation from stage to screen. In 1960s America, the national unity felt during World War Two was replaced by a divided country, with social activism for the Civil Rights movement leaving many voices, such as the Puerto Rican communities depicted in the film, demanding to be heard (Grant 1). The depiction of race in West Side Story, specifically the white American performers playing Puerto Rican characters, has been a point of tension for the film within modern analysis. It is therefore notable that this companion book, released forty years later than the film, does not discuss the films issues of racial representation. The book states that West Side Story was the first production to openly address racism, gang violence, and the delusion of the American Dream. However, the books description of Rita Moreno’s (Anita) struggle to escape the stereotype of ‘Latina spitfire’ after the film, is disregarded by drawing attention to her Academy Award success. The purpose of a companion book is to celebrate a film and encourage fans to purchase the item, which explains, but does not excuse, the books avoidance of criticising the racial representation that was evident within, and beyond, 1960s Hollywood.

The book continues in a linear structure with a copy of Ernest Lehman’s screenplay, which includes stills from the film and revised scenes. The stills are inserted on golden backgrounds and presented as though in a scrapbook, illustrating the key scenes such as the balcony duet between Maria and Tony. The placement of such images on golden backgrounds mirrors the style of Golden Age Hollywood and makes the script more accessible for fans to read by providing breaks in the text. The visually appealing and engaging presentation of the book therefore encourages fans to invest in the item due to an evocation of nostalgia for 1960s Hollywood.

A notable section of the artefact is the copy of the Original Lobby Brochure, which includes: stills from the film, promotional pictures of actors, the origins of West Side Story, the making of the film, a plot synopsis, lyric pages, creator credits, articles about Lehmann, and an introduction to the two rival gangs – The Jets and The Sharks. This brochure adds value to the artefact because it includes potentially unseen information and images for fans, further enticing potential investors in the artefact. Similarly, the Memo’s and Reviews section which follows, contains: the New York shooting locations, reviews of the film, and newspaper clippings from 1961. It also includes a set of exhibition instructions that Robert Wise, the director, devised for the screenings. These instructions suggest that the opening prologue and accompanying overture of the film, must be screened with the curtains opened and the house lights dimmed by 25%. The musical genre was the epitome of the Golden Age of Hollywood’s studio era (Feuer ix) which is why these instructions are included in the book, as they add value for interested fans and highlight the importance of the musical genre in this period.

The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is home to many artefacts relating to West Side Story, both the 1961 production and the 2021 re-make. These artefacts include music sheets, postcards of stars, theatre and cinema programmes, press books, and magazines. For example, the original press book for West Side Story (89125) is an A4 booklet created to advertise and promote the 1961 film. Excerpts from the press book can be found within this companion book, as the Original Lobby Brochure uses elements such as the famous shot of Tony chasing Maria on a dusty pink background. Therefore, it is significant that this companion book, released in 2003, chose to include the lobby brochure of a similar style and content to the press book, thus positioning the book within the style of the 1960s.

Within this collection of tie-in (referring to novelisations) and companion books, The Rocky Horror Picture Show Book (36480) is another example of a companion piece for a musical adaptation. Whilst these two books are opposite in their approach to structure and presentation, with Rocky Horror’s book mirroring the anarchic style of the film, they both entice pre-existing fans with their behind-the-scenes information.

Moreover, this collection features other companion books such as The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy (37689) released in November of 2002. This book was similarly created for a pre-existing fan base and provided an insight into the technical rather than narrative aspects of the film. This was partly due to its release a year before the final film of the trilogy, thus meaning aspects like screenplays could not be included. Even though the West Side Story book explores narrative elements more than the technical elements of production, it targets a pre-existing audience by offering a nostalgic perspective of the film. The attraction to a book on West Side Story is the music and nostalgia, hence the inclusion of lyric pages and the lobby brochure, whilst Lord of the Rings is in the fantasy genre and offers an exploration of technical devices like CGI and green screens instead. The collection’s wide variety of companion books shows how the targeting of pre-existing and new fans can be achieved in multiple ways and is dependent on the genre and date of release in relation to its case study.

Works Cited

Feuer, Jane. Preface to First Edition. The Hollywood Musical, 2nd ed., Indiana University Press, 1993, pp. ix-x.

 Grant Keith Barry. Introduction. American Cinema of the 1960s: Themes and Variations, Rutgers University Press, 2008, pp1-21.

 Garcia J. Desiree. “The Musical as Archive.” The Movie Musical, edited by Garcia, Rutgers University Press, 2021, pp15-48.

Heckman, Chris. “When Was The Golden Age of Hollywood - And Why Did It End?” www.studiobinder.com/blog/when-was-the-golden-age-of-hollywood. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.

 West Side Story. Dir. Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins, United Artists, 1961.