After Joe Caroff, West Side Story Poster, 1961

West Side Story (1961), directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, brought the Broadway musical to the screen with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The poster, with its stencilled title and fire escape, was designed by Joe Caroff, the American designer later known for the James Bond 007 logo. It is often credited to Saul Bass, whose title sequence inspired it.

This version shows the original design, before the film's Academy Awards were added. Two dancers leap on the fire escape that climbs beside the title. The tagline reads ‘The screen achieves one of the great entertainments in the history of motion pictures’, and the credit block names Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno and George Chakiris.

Colour print on paper at much reduced size, probably a later reproduction. No printer's line or US release number is visible. In a cream mount and a black frame.