Splendor in the Grass

Brookhaven Hamlet (aerial view)

“Splendid Memories of Elia Kazan”- Though most know director Elia Kazan’s triumphs in the Broadway production of Death of a Salesman and Academy Award-winning film On the Waterfront, locals probably can recall his filming of another famous movie in their back yard. Kazan and American playwright William Inge spent the summer of 1960 filming scenes from Splendor in the Grass on almost 200 acres of land in Brookhaven hamlet. The Brookhaven property, which was the former site of the Tiger Nurseries, was transformed into an unkempt Kansas oilfield for the filming of Splendor in the Grass. The scene was created to convey the general atmosphere of the Great Depression that followed the heydays of the 1920s. ~ By Frank S. Costanza / Long Island Advance, October 2, 2003

According to an “Advance” article dating from August 11, 1960, the site on Beaver Dam Road was selected because of its resemblance to Kansas. Charles H. Maguire, assistant producer and unit manager of the film, lived in West Islip and cruised across Long Island in search of the perfect place to film “Splendor in the Grass”. ~ Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities/Town of Brookhaven

Long Island Memories – Natalie Wood receives symbolic key to the Town of Brookhaven

Of Interest:

Click HERE for Nominations and Awards

When Inge won the Academy Award for his Splendor screenplay, director Elia Kazan made no secret that he felt he deserved at least some of the credit. “He produced a novelette and I made it into the screenplay for which he was to win an Academy Award,” said Kazan. “He’d done some fussing with the scenes, and some of the dialogue he added was good and some not necessary; photographed action would tell most of it. His story had the one essential, an excellent flow of incident to a true conclusion. Bill was an accomplished storyteller; it’s a special talent. But I also knew how much I’d contributed…” ~ compiled by Andrea Passaflume / TCM

Splendor in the Grass was Warren Beatty’s first major film role. Phyllis Diller, primarily known for her work in comedy on the small screen, had a cameo appearance as the larger-than-life saloon keeper Texas Guinan.