How did Splendor in the Grass portray repressed sexuality in the 1920s?

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Elia Kazan stands on a docked ship set with arms outstretched, directing a scene for Panic in the Streets in New Orleans, with crew members and rigging visible behind him. — Elia Kazan Elia Kazan on the set of *Panic in the Streets*, 1950.

Directed by Elia Kazan, the 1961 film Splendor in the Grass portrays the intense sexual frustrations and repressed love experienced by a teenage couple, Deanie and Bud, living in a small Kansas town during the 1920s.1

The narrative highlights how the couple struggles to maintain their relationship amidst the constant interference and moral objections of their parents. This societal pressure and the inability to navigate their burgeoning desires lead to severe consequences, including Deanie’s suicide attempt and subsequent institutionalization. By refusing to offer a conventional, happy resolution, the film provides a sobering examination of the psychological toll exacted by the era's restrictive social and sexual norms.1