The story begins in a ruined lot, purchased by New York City state and torn down, with
a faded sign that reads “Lincoln Performing Arts Center” out the front. It looks like
the whole area has been demolished for redevelopment, and it makes a pretty miserable sight, full
of ruined and half-constructed buildings. Four men, the Jets, emerge from a trapdoor
underground into the site, bringing paint with them, and greet another man in a white
vest who steps out of the cabin of an old crane. It looks like he’s been sleeping
in there. He’s followed by a blonde girl who kisses him deeply in front of the others
before jumping out and heading off. He grins at his friends, then leads them past a ‘Men
Working’ sign and down the street into the city proper.
As they come into town, another few young men hanging out in their usual haunts see
the Jets walking down the main street and quickly fall into step behind them. Before
long, there are over a dozen of them. They move around the town, causing trouble wherever
they go - stealing from outside a store, and pulling down a restaurant sign, chased away
by the angry proprietor. It comes to a head when they arrive at a mural
celebrating the valor and sacrifice of Puerto Rico. They tell a young man wearing an “Eddie’s
Garage” shirt to get out, then take the cans of paint and start defacing the mural,
painting over it with a harsh black. A gang of Puerto Ricans see them ruining the mural
and rush into the courtyard, knocking over the young man in the shirt, and starting a
fistfight with the Jets. The fight culminates in a big chase across
town, with several small scuffles breaking out between groups of Jets and the new arrivals,
the Sharks. One Jet is caught climbing over a fence by several Sharks, and his friends
jump in to save him, starting another large fight. Two men, the guy in the white vest
who leads the Jets, and a man in a red jacket who looks to lead the Sharks, make their way
towards each other and are about to engage in combat.
Just then, though, the arrival of a police car breaks up the fight. The policeman tells
Riff, the Jet leader, to leave the Puerto Ricans alone, and that the Sharks need to
learn to call the police when they’re in trouble instead of resorting to vigilantism.
The gangs don’t seem interested in listening to the police officer, though, instead taunting
each other and starting to scuffle again. Riff doesn’t want the Puerto Ricans in town.
The arrival of a lieutenant shuts everyone up. He brings forward the “Eddie’s Garage”
boy and asks him to identify which Puerto Rican pushed him, but he claims he doesn’t
remember. The lieutenant tells both sides they have to get out, because this whole area
is owned by the city and is about to be knocked down for redevelopment. Bernardo, leader of
the Sharks, protests they aren’t moving, and they’ve got rights, but with a veiled
threat from the police, they’re forced to leave the scene. They walk off singing in
Spanish, a song of freedom and bravery. When the Puerto Ricans are gone, the lieutenant
turns to the Jets and says that although the city is about to destroy the area, that’s
no excuse for them to be causing trouble. They’re white, so they should be able to
make it here, and he’s giving them all the chances he can, but they don’t have long
left to get their act together. As he’s about to leave, Riff taunts him about his
surname - Schrank - and the police leave, disappointed but not surprised.
After the police car drives off, the Jets decide they’re going to start a fight with
the Sharks. Riff convinces them that Shrank doesn’t know what he’s on about, and the
Jets are forever, no matter what happens to their turf. Some of the guys ask about Tony,
who left, but Riff asserts that Tony’s not done with the Jets, he’ll be back. They
march through the streets, excited to get the chance to have a real scrap with the Sharks.
Later that day, the aforementioned Tony is at work in a drugstore when Riff shows up,
begging him to go to a mixer with them that night. They want to use it as an opportunity
to scope out the Sharks and throw down the gauntlet with Bernardo. Tony’s not interested,
though, and is just wanting to do his job, grateful that he’s been given a second chance
after getting out of jail. Riff reminds Tony that he’s always been there for him, and
Tony says that Riff’s basically blood to him, but he’s scared of himself. He took
it too far last time, and he’s afraid of what he’s capable of, and he doesn’t want
to be that guy anymore. He’s trying to start over and be better,
Riff is angry, saying that even though his world is being destroyed around him, the Jets
are always there for him, and clearly he thought Tony would be too. Tony is frustrated, but
maintains he can’t go. Riff stalks out of the store. The owner of the store, Valentina,
warns Tony to stay away from Riff, because he hates Puerto Ricans and that isn’t Tony.
Tony tries to defend his friend, but she maintains that he’s different from them and has the
potential to keep rising. Tony begins to believe that maybe it’s true, that a miracle is
going to come his way and change everything. That night, Maria, Bernardo’s sister, is
at home getting ready for the mixer. She is being forced into wearing a dress she hates,
but her sister-in-law Anita manages to save it by giving her a red belt. Maria laments
having to go to the dance with Chino, one of Bernardo’s friends. She really doesn’t
like him that way, but Bernardo seems intent on setting them up.
Bernardo and Chino enter the house, and Bernardo is talking Chino into it - he seems equally
as unenthusiastic about taking Maria as she does about going with him. He asks Bernardo
to let him join the Sharks, so he can help protect their neighborhood, but Bernardo says
that Maria doesn’t want a guy like that. The girls enter, and Bernardo says he’ll
beat up any gringos that smile at his sister. At the mixer, everyone’s dancing. There
are barely any mixed couples, though, the whites keeping to themselves as the Puerto
Ricans enter. A police officer is supervising the evening. Before long, a scuffle breaks
out on the dance floor, and they get separated by the organizers. The host explains that
this is a social experiment and they want everyone to join in. Bernardo steps up with
Anita, and seeing it as a challenge, Riff matches him.
However, although the point of the mixer is to get people dancing with different partners,
everyone ignores it - the two sides’ battle lines are clearly drawn. Tony shows up after
all, smartly dressed and watching from the sidelines. Maria wants to dance, trying now
and again to step into the crowd, but Chino is hanging back. After a while, he seems to
gather some courage and steps up, and she grins happily and follows him onto the floor.
Tony spots her dancing from across the room and is instantly mesmerized by her, and feeling
his stare, she catches his eye. She’s frozen, forgetting all about her dance partner, entranced
by his intensity. It’s love at first sight. He walks through the crowds of dancers to
a quiet area backstage, never dropping her gaze, and she follows, meeting him for the
first time behind the stands in a place that’s all their own.
They dance together, caught up in their little world, and Maria asks Tony if he likes dancing.
He says he does, if it’s with her. She admits that she didn’t realize he wasn’t Puerto
Rican, and he asks if it’s OK that he isn’t. She kisses him in response, fleetingly, and
he’s shocked, stepping back. At her consternation, though, he hastily explains that he just wasn’t
expecting it, and leans in to kiss her properly this time. At that moment, though, they’re
discovered by Bernardo. Tony tries to introduce himself to Maria’s
brother, but he pushes him, yelling at him to stay away from his sister. The police officer
gets involved and pulls them apart. Tony is so enthralled by Maria he can’t stop staring
at her, and isn’t fazed by Bernardo’s angry response. She leaves with Anita, and
Tony runs after them, leaving Riff and the others behind. The Jets and the Sharks agree
to fight the following day, Riff taking Bernardo’s rage over Tony and Maria’s dance as an opportunity
to convince the Puerto Ricans to participate. Unable to find where Maria has gone, Tony
wanders the streets alone, thinking about the kiss they shared and letting himself fall
even deeper in love with her. He calls for her at the windows of the Puerto Rican households,
hoping by some miracle of fate he’ll find her - and just as he’s about to give up,
she emerges onto a balcony. He thinks it’s providence, but she’s frightened of her
brother’s reaction and asks Tony what the hell he thinks he’s doing.
She tries convincing him to leave, but he refuses, saying he doesn’t care if her brother
likes him, only as long as she does. He climbs up the fire escape to get to her, but isn’t
able to get through the grate and has to settle for speaking to her from the neighboring building.
Although she is taken aback by his forwardness, she’s entirely besotted with him and charmed
by his determination. He asks her to run away with him the next day, and she agrees, saying
she’ll never look at anyone else again. They share an intense and passionate moment
on the balcony, exchanging vows of love, twining their hands together through the grate, and
Tony says that meeting her is the miracle he knew would happen. Then he recklessly climbs
over the fire escape, taking her in his arms and kissing her soundly.
Maria is called from inside, but she promises that she will meet him tomorrow. She asks
what his full name is, and he tells her it’s Anton. With a final kiss and a promise, Tony
regretfully climbs down, and Maria is left to return to her bed alone, dreaming of the
man she loves. The next morning, Maria hastily takes off
the party dress she’s still wearing from the night before, and then enters the kitchen
for breakfast to hear Anita telling Bernardo, she’ll marry him once he learns to leave
the gringos alone. They kiss playfully through the sheets that Anita is hanging up. Maria
greets them, but they are too caught up in each other to notice her. Anita begs her boyfriend
not to go and fight, and Maria asks what fight, at which point they turn to her and tell her
not to worry about it. Bernardo apologizes to Maria for his bad behavior
towards Tony the previous evening. Maria admonishes him, saying that Tony’s a nice guy and she
can dance with whoever she wants - her brother shouldn’t be getting involved in her love
life. Bernardo protests, saying he doesn’t want her to marry a gringo, and she explodes
at him, angry that he’s treating her like a kid. She explains that she was alone with
their father for five years in Puerto Rico while Bernardo was here in New York. She looked
after him and did everything for herself, and she doesn’t need her big brother to
make decisions for her, especially not when she just had one dance with someone. She begs
him not to fight with the Jets, saying she wants to be happy here, to study, to build
a life, and she doesn’t want him thinking for her.
Bernardo is infuriated, because he thinks one day they’ll all go back to Puerto Rico
and be happy there. Maria stands up to leave. She’s got no intention of going back, she
wants to build her life here in the city, and although the Sharks may fall at his feet,
she doesn’t care about his threats, he’s not the boss of her and she’s going nowhere.
Bernardo turns to Anita for support, but she rebuts him, saying that she works her fingers
to the bone to pay rent here, and she’s got her dream of opening a shop of her own,
and if he thinks she’s going back to Puerto Rico with him, they’re not on the same page.
Bernardo is left defeated and frustrated, convinced that life in New York is too difficult
if you’re not white, and not understanding why the women seem to think anything is possible
here. But Anita tells him if he wants to go back, there’s a boat he can take, and she’s
going nowhere. Meanwhile, Tony is at work at the drugstore.
Valentina is teaching him some words in Spanish. She asks why he wants to know, and he says
he’s fallen in love with a Puerto Rican girl. She tries teaching him phrases for a
first date, but he says he wants to know how to tell her he wants to be with her forever.
Later, he meets Maria at the train station, and although he’s excited to take her out,
she’s anxious, knowing that her brother intends to fight the Jets later that night
because of them. Tony is adamant that they haven’t done anything
wrong by being in love, but Maria is still upset that someone might get hurt because
of them, even if it’s not wrong. She asks Tony to stop the fight, but he says he can’t
talk Riff out of anything. Meanwhile, the rest of the Jets are being questioned about
the place and time of the rumble, but they’re not giving up any information.
Tony and Maria are walking around a church on a date. He sits down and explains to her
that the last time he saw this place he was on the way to prison, and tells her about
his past and how he almost eliminated someone the last time he was in a rumble. Ever since
that moment, it’s like he’s been falling off a tall building, until he saw her, and
suddenly the world was right-side-up again. She’s touched by his confession, and tells
him she was wrong to ask him to stop the fighting - she doesn’t want him anywhere near the
fighting. She’s worried he might get hurt. He tells her the Spanish that he was taught,
that he wants to be with her forever, and she laughs at his attempt, but appreciates
his sincerity and that he tried to learn for her. She kneels down in the church, and begins
to say wedding vows in Spanish. He understands what she’s doing, and completes the vows
with her. No matter what happens, they love each other and want to be together, even knowing
that it will cause strife between the Jets and the Sharks. Maria takes his hand, and
the two share an intimate moment. As they leave, though, Tony stops her, and
says that he’s going to do his best to stop the fighting. He doesn’t want the world
to be arguing around them. They share a kiss to seal the promise, and Maria tells him to
come to her that night. Meanwhile, the Jets buy a gun to take to the
fight. They agreed on no weapons, but they think the Puerto Ricans are going to break
the deal and bring one, so they need to be prepared. Tony meets them and tries to take
the gun from Riff, but he isn’t successful. Despite the police’s best efforts to intervene,
the Jets and the Sharks grab their weapons and the fight goes ahead. Tony and Chino sneak
into the building, even though neither is supposed to be there.
Riff hands Tony the gun and tells him it’ll be safe with him. Tony tries to talk to Bernardo,
saying that he came here to tell him he has nothing against him, that he wants to make
it right. He says he’s different, that he just wants to be with Maria. Bernardo refuses
to listen, punching Tony repeatedly, but he doesn’t retaliate. He tells Bernardo that
he loves Maria. Bernardo punches him in the face, and finally Tony fights back, beating
Bernardo soundly, but stopping himself before he goes too far. One of the Sharks throws
Bernardo a knife, and Riff steps up pulling out one of his own; they fight briefly, and
Riff is stabbed in the chest. Tony pulls the knife out and watches Riff
pass away in front of him, and on impulse, stricken with grief, runs forward and stabs
Bernardo. The police arrive just as chaotic fighting breaks out, and Tony is dragged away
from the scene, dropping the gun on his way out. Chino picks it up and escapes just as
the police arrive to find Bernardo and Riff’s lifeless bodies.
Meanwhile, Maria is at work, cleaning a department store with a crew of other girls, and Maria
is telling them all about her mysterious boyfriend, excited that she’s found love at last. At
the end of her shift, though, Chino arrives, catching her alone. He’s in shock, having
been crying, and tells her about the fight in a broken voice. He says it all happened
too fast, and Riff was stabbed. Maria asks if Tony was there, and Chino yells at her
that Tony took Bernardo's life, seeming to realize it himself at the moment Maria mentions
his name. He runs off in despair, just as a police officer arrives. Maria is left shocked,
calling out that he’s lying. Tony climbs in through Maria’s window that
night, and she screams at him, angry, pushing him away. She’s devastated by the fate of
her brother. She beats him on the chest but he refuses to leave. After she collapses on
the floor, crying, he says he’s going to turn himself into the cops, but he had to
see her one last time first. She grabs him, still sobbing, and says that she can never
forgive him if he lets the police take him away from her too. She takes his bloodstained
face in her hands, and they cry together. The Sharks congregate around Valentina’s
store, and she finds out that Tony took out Bernardo at the fight. She’s shocked and
falls into despair, lamenting on her late gringo husband, wishing that things could
be different for the young couple. Anita is at the police station after identifying the
body, so Maria and Tony are alone in the apartment. After a while, both stop crying, and there
is a poignant moment in the air between them. They know that the life they’ve known up
until this point is about to change. Maria is prepared to forgive Tony for what he’s
done, because she can’t bear to lose him. They kiss and fall onto Maria’s bed, making
love for the first time. Before sunrise, though, Tony awakes, knowing he needs to leave and
find somewhere safe to hide. Maria tells him to go to Valentina’s, that she will understand,
and she’ll find him there. Just then, though, Anita arrives home as Maria
is kissing Tony goodbye. She’s furious, watching him leave out the window, and slaps
Maria when she says she loves him, telling her that she needs to forget Tony. Eventually,
though, she accepts that Maria truly is in love with him and she won’t change her mind.
She says that she won’t ever forgive Tony, though, and although she loves Maria, if she
wants to be with him, they both have to leave. Chino finds the Sharks and tells them Bernardo
was a fool who passed away for nothing. They protest, saying that he passed away for Puerto
Rican pride, to try and get them a better life. Chino shows them the gun and says he’s
going after the gringos, despite them begging him not to, because he’ll only put himself
in even more trouble. Schrank is interviewing Maria and Anita at their home, and Maria hears
from the lieutenant that Chino is out looking for vengeance on Tony. Desperately, she asks
Anita to go to the drugstore and warn Tony about Chino coming, because the police officer
won’t let her out of the interview. Anita leaves, upset that she’s being asked
to protect her boyfriend’s murderer, but willing to do it because she loves Maria.
Meanwhile, the Jets are all at the drugstore where Tony is hiding downstairs, lamenting
Riff’s death and how they could do nothing. They don’t know what to do without their
leader. Anita arrives at the drugstore, and the Jets
aren’t happy to see her there. They lock her in, pushing out the other girls, and attack
her as a group, ripping off her clothes. Valentina arrives upstairs just in time to stop them,
and is disgusted at them all, tearing them off Anita. She stands up, rearranging her
clothing, and makes to leave, calling Valentina a traitor for harboring them. She says she’s
not American, she’s Puerto Rican, and she’s giving up on this city and the animals that
live in it. In a stroke of anger, she tells Valentina that Chino shot Maria, and to tell
Tony she’s gone and she’s not coming for him.
Everyone is shocked at the news, and Anita stalks out of the drugstore, not looking back.
Valentina is ashamed of the boys’ conduct, saying she knew them since they were children,
and they’ve grown into terrible people. She doesn’t want them in her store any longer.
Then she heads downstairs to tell Tony the bad news.
He’s heard the scuffle, and is frantically packing so he can leave when Maria arrives,
wanting to get ahead of the police. He tells Valentina that he’s so grateful for everything
she’s done, and he’s going to name all his daughters Valentina after her, because
he wouldn’t even be here if not for her kindness. She struggles to get a word in and
tell him what she learned from Anita, as he goes on to say that his love for Maria is
his whole life, and he’s worth nothing without it.
Finally, Valentina manages to tell him that Chino shot Maria, her eyes filling with tears.
Tony is devastated, running straight upstairs, away from her and out into the street. He
calls for Chino, yelling at him to come out. He has no reason to live if Maria is gone.
One of the Jets runs out, trying to get him to hide, but he shrugs them off, tears streaming
down his face, screaming for Chino to take him out too.
Maria arrives, bag in hand, totally unaware of anything that’s happened. Tony sees her
across the street, and runs to her, overjoyed to see that she’s unharmed. Just then, though,
Chino steps out and shoots him from behind. Tony collapses with a shot through the chest,
and Maria runs to catch him as he falls. He smiles at her as he’s dying, even as she
screams and cries his name, taking his face in her hands and begging him to live. He’s
just happy that she’s safe, even if his own life is over.
Tony passes away in her arms. The Jets come out from where they have been hiding, and
the Sharks appear on the other side of the road, all staring solemnly at the body of
the boy who wanted to end the fighting, with Maria sobbing hysterically over him. Maria
grabs the gun from a listless Chino and threatens him with it, asking how many bullets are left,
aiming it at each and every one of the boys in turn, both Jets and Sharks. She says she
can take them out because she’s learned how to hate now. She only wants one bullet
left so she can end herself afterwards, because now Tony is gone, she has nothing left to
live for. Eventually, though, when nobody responds to
her rant, she drops the gun with an angry yell and returns to Tony’s body, kissing
him, whispering to him that she loves him. The boys all carry the body away into the
drugstore, a tearful Maria following them, and Valentina takes Chino by the arm. He follows
her, all the fight drained out of him by the realization of what’s happened. The police
arrive at the scene and take Chino into custody just as the sun is about to rise. It seems
like everyone has met a terrible fate.