[on dubbing for
Natalie Wood in
West Side Story (1961)] I knew that I would never be cast
physically in the role of Maria. In the picture they wanted Maria to
sound like a sixteen-year-old and they kept trying out Natalie's voice.
Natalie was perfectly musical, but I had the feeling that it was only
gradually when they started working with her that they said to
themselves, "I don't think she is able to do it at all". I was hanging
around and not knowing how much of my voice was going to be used except
for a few high notes that she knew she couldn't sustain. In the end,
Natalie recorded everything to her own takes and sometimes was even out
of synch. My main job was to fix up all the inconsistencies of her
original recordings. I had to loop all the vocals after the film was
finished.
