Does anyone know if the racial story that turned out with no one getting the girl allowed it to be played in the South? Was the fact that Natalie really wasn't part black and was a big name make sure it was shown there? I think viewers today underestimate what it was like then and why they wouldn't want to risk profits by hiring a woman not thought to be totally white for a romantic role with men thought to be totally white. Putting it into the past, as in Show Boat, and far away also made it seem more remote and potentially less threatening. That was then but this is now, sort of thing.
For some modern viewers it would have been horrible to see Natalie Wood act dead from drowning, knowing that's how she really died. For a woman who was afraid of water, she got wet a lot in the movies.
For some modern viewers it would have been horrible to see Natalie Wood act dead from drowning, knowing that's how she really died. For a woman who was afraid of water, she got wet a lot in the movies.