splendor, my sweet splendor

Sometime during my teenage years my mama showed me a movie called 'Splendor in The Grass.' she told me about Natalie Wood and her romances with both Warren Beatty and Mister Frank Sinatra. She told me that Natalie Wood drowned off a yaucht owned by Robert Wagner's family. The official theory is that Wood either tried to leave the yacht or to secure a dinghy from banging against the hull when she accidentally slipped and fell overboard. When her body was found, she was wearing a down jacket, nightgown, and socks. A true tragedy.
'Splendor in the Grass' is a passionate love story about a young couple trying to fight for the love they both feel for eachother. Wood's character comes from a lower class family as Beatty's from an upper class world. There was always a Romeo and Juliet kind of pull between the two statuses. I believe this was Beatty's first film debut and Wood looks ravishing, she had true natural beauty that it all her own. Beatty's character's sister is a flashy flapper with a drinking problem and a style thats way ahead of her time.
Im currently reading, and loving Just Kids by Patti Smith. She writes about how Maplethrope's favorite movie was always 'Splendor in the Grass'. When i read that i felt a special kinship with dear Robert as 'Splendor' has always been one of my favorite films as well.