best film: James Dean may have never made a masterpiece, but he never made an unarchiveable film either – or for that matter, even a film that did not at least flirt with the top ten (10) of its respective year. His best film is Nicholas Ray’s Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and it is not because of the iconic red jacket or drag race. Ray was at the height of his powers during this stretch (Johnny Guitar was just the year prior in 1954). Rebel bests East of Eden (from the consummate Elia Kazan) and Giant (directed by a very able George Stevens).
best performance: Rebel Without a Cause but the delta here is even slimmer than the category above. All three (3) films rely on acting as a major strength (for better and worse) – they are character studies for Dean’s various roles (from Cal Trask in East of Eden to Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause to Jett Rink in Giant) – and Dean gives the best performance in all three (3) films. If Giant (the weakest of the three performances), had focused on Dean’s Jett Rink instead of the Jordan Benedict Jr character (played by Rock Hudson) – this may very well be the best performance of the three (3) – and Giant would be measurably better than it is. Still, there is a reason Rebel is the film Dean is remembered for best – his performance is so raw – he is a more sensitive version of Brando – more adolescent and even volatile in some ways though less physical. This is a new form of acting with a lineage coming from Montgomery Clit and Marlon Brando – and it is important.
James Dean as Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause just a year after Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront – Dean is part of the movement like Brando – the actor’s studio, method acting – and their styles and similarities are impossible to deny.
stylistic innovations/traits: Three (3) for three (3) in the archives (and two (2) for two (2) in in terms of possible Oscar nominations because two of the films were in the same year) and then of course James Dean was dead at the age of twenty-four (24). He lived from 1931 to 1955. Montgomery Clift was eleven (11) years older, Brando seven (7) – even Paul Newman (who had his big break taking a role – Somebody Up There Likes Me – headed Dean’s way), is six (6) years older. Dean’s death at such a young age was tragic of course – making him perhaps cinema’s greatest acting “what could have been”. Dean gives the best performance in all three of his films (not something one can say about a John Cazale – another actor with a flawless filmography) and of course that resume is without a blemish. Dean was heavily influenced by Clift, Brando and the method acting movement. Dean broods – playing emotionally complex (and sometimes realistically inconsistent) characters – touching a new form of acting believability in the mid-1950s. The approach is supposed to result in characters that are less machine-like than the roles played by Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne and the other titans that dominated the screen prior to the advent of Clift, Brando and Dean. Dean’s filmography is obviously lacking depth – and that is an undeniable weakness. It is endlessly intriguing to wonder if he would have had the long, storied career of say Paul Newman or a 1960s decade like Alain Delon. Impossible to know for sure of course – and tremendously sad that cinephiles never had the chance to find out what the future held for James Dean. Still, Dean’s legacy lives on and he should be remembered as a great actor in the middle of an important acting movement in cinema history – not just an icon of cool and the legend myth status surrounding his death.
East of Eden is Dean’s debut, first archiveable film, first Oscar nomination, and the only film that was released prior to his death in September 1955. Dean plays Cal Trask – and Cal’s trademark yellow sweater is in just about every scene almost like Dean’s red jacket in Rebel Without a Cause. This is Cain and Abel via John Steinbeck in Salinas (on location shooting – gorgeous) California – a meditation on hypocrisy from the father played by Raymond Massey. Dean is enchanting – method – apparently, he even went so far as to provoke Massey (who did not like Dean he said during and after filming) off-screen to increase the intensity of the performance and the gulf/dynamic between the two. Like Rebel – Dean plays a troubled teen, tormented by parents/family relationship – the debut for Jo Van Fleet (who is very good here – won best supporting actress). Dean and Massey are two complex characters – Massey’s character is on the draft board and Dean’s character is a war profiteer – so it is believable that he would be upset. Dean is such a gifted physical actor – grabbing his hair (busy with his hands like Brando grabbing Eva Marie Saint’s glove in On the Waterfront – both films directed by Elia Kazan – or the way Dean slinks out of the back of the car. Dean has his trademark changes in volume in speaking – soft spoken and mumbling one minute to almost over the top outpouring of emotion the next.
directors worked with: Elia Kazan (1), Nicholas Ray (1) and George Stevens (1)
when Dean is absent from the screen in George Stevens’ Giant – it is palpable
top five performances:
- Rebel Without a Cause
- East of Eden
- Giant
archiveable films
| 1955- East of Eden |
| 1955- Rebel Without a Cause |
| 1956- Giant |
“Dean gives the best performance in all three of his films (not something one can say about a John Cazale – another actor with a flawless filmography”
@Drake – I won’t comment on Dean’s performances since I have not watched Rebel Without a Cause or East of Eden in over a decade and have not seen Giant. Excited to check them out. But in regards to the statement about Cazale above, is that really a fair comparison?
Godfather I has arguably the greatest cast ever
Godfather II features Pacino giving arguably the single greatest performance in Cinema History or close to it
Dog Day Afternoon also featured an all time great Pacino performance
The Conversation had Gene Hackman giving one of his top 3 performances
The Deer Hunter had unbelievable performances from De Niro and Christopher Walken
The other thing is the quality of the films, again I have not seen 2 of the 3 Dean films in a decade at least and need to see Giant but going but your grades you have:
Rebel Without a Cause – MS
East of Eden – HR/MS
Giant – HR
obviously you consider these to be impressive films with those grades but does that really compare to the quality of the 5 films for Cazale?
Godfather I – MP
Godfather II – MP
The Conversation – MP
Dog Day Afternoon – MS/MP
The Deer Hunter – MP
4 of the 5 are clear MP with 2 of them being enormous MP that are legit contenders for greatest film ever and the other as borderline MP
Again I am not commenting on Deans performances, it just does not seem like an apples to apples comparison when comparing the quality of the films and the quality of the casts in them
@Drake – By the way sorry if the entire post sounds like an extreme nitpick, reading it over it is a bit much! I guess it just goes back to a concept that I still have trouble with which is how much weight to give to a films quality and how much to screentime. Cazale’s 5 films are insanely great but he is not the star for any of them although he is fantastic with whatever screentime he did get including the “you’re nothing to me now Fredo” which I think is one of the best 3 or 4 scenes in the film
Another downside to Cazale’s performances are he never carries a film by his own. Or any scene. In all of his scenes Pacino is there. Even Pesci in Raging Bull has a singular standout scene where he shines without De Niro.
@Malith – I acknowledge this above “Cazale’s 5 films are insanely great but he is not the star for any of them”. But yes it is a fair point.
I normally hate comparing film to sports although I love both but in basketball there is a concept of a “floor raiser” vs “ceiling raiser”. A floor raiser is a player, usually a high volume scorer, who you could throw on a terrible team and make them somewhat competitive. This would be a player who is capable of playing high number of minutes and being the focus for the other teams defense. A ceiling raiser is a player who you could add to an already good team and turn them into a great team. Usually a ceiling raiser will have skills beyond just scoring that makes them a strong fit with an already talented team and very compatible next to other talented players.
I think you could argue that to some extent movies have a similar dynamic. Sadly both of these men died far too young, I look forward to checking out Dean’s work
@James Trapp- You’re making too much of it, simply Dean forced to carry more of the load than Cazale ever had to. That’s not what breaks the virtual tie between them – just noting an undeniable difference between their resumes.
@James Trapp- Ok sure- not necessarily meant to be apples to apples – just using those two actors and talking about some of the differences since they both have sort of unblemished filmographies and what is an unquestionable strength for Dean. When we talk about Cazale, I’ll talk about the strengths of his case.
@Drake – got it, I look forward to checking out his work, regarding the concept of an unblemished record and I apologize if I’ve asked you this question before but
would having a significant role in a film that is not strong enough to make the archives count against an actor. So for example, if Dean had played in say 5 films, the 3 he actually played plus two addition films that he had substantial roles in that were not strong enough to make the archives would this negatively impact his case? I suppose Renée Jeanne Falconetti would be the most extreme case for this question since she was in just one film but its considered to be one of the greatest ever. Had she played in like 3 or 4 other films that were ultimately forgettable both in terms of the film itself and her performance would you have ranked her lower on your list?
@James Trapp – I think it is all part of his story. I’m also trying to fill in a little description here on each page – not everything is part of the major part of the evaluation.
I think Dean is more talented than Clift & Newman. He would have been a top 20 actor I guess. The 60s is hard for U.S. actors, in your top 20, it’s mostly the best actors of Golden Age (30-50s era) & New Hollywood (born between 37-43). It’s not a coincidence.
@KidCharlemagne – I’ll be honest, I feel somewhat foolish for continuing to post about Dean given that I haven’t seen 1 of his 3 films and the other 2 films I saw so long ago that its basically like I have not seen them haha, then again this is actually less about Dean and more about grading methodology as I think its quite an extrapolation to suggest he would top 20 based on 3 performances unless those 3 performances where the level of like De Niro in Taxi Driver. Top 20 is better than Denzel, Sean Penn, PSH, Joaquin Phoenix, Klaus Kinski, and Max von Sydow amongst others.
It’s a what if scenario. I know what you say, I think he had the talent to be a top 20. Of course, he died young so the story end here.
Dean was only twenty-four(24) I think when he died. I would have Dean, Ledger(28) and River Phoenix(23) as the three biggest what-ifs.
@Malith- quite right on the age, thank you