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Today is the 60th anniversary of James Dean's death at the age of 24--and I thought there ought to be a thread commemorating his few, but important contributions to our film culture, as well as to popular culture (which he really didn't have much to do with).
I remember waking up to puberty and James Dean at the same time--many years after his passing. He was part of my youth, as he has probably been part of so many other young people's formative years, decade after decade. I can't think of any other popular figure whose iconic qualities has stood the test of time to the same degree. And that's just the teen icon aspect. As an actor he was remarkably innovative and gifted. Watch him in Rebel Without a Cause. He still shines. There was a great talent who never got a chance to truly unfold. Thanks for being with us for a short while, Jimmy. You made a difference.
I was age 11 when he took that fatal drive and agree with the OP.
Bogart, though, said that had Dean lived, he would've been "ordinary." He believed that the tragedy help shape his aura and inflate our opinions of him as an actor.
I was age 11 when he took that fatal drive and agree with the OP.
Bogart, though, said that had Dean lived, he would've been "ordinary." He believed that the tragedy help shape his aura and inflate our opinions of him as an actor.
For whatever that's worth.
In my opinion Bogie, was over-rated and just ordinary.
In my opinion Bogie, was over-rated and just ordinary.
There were many established actors from the 1950s who just didn't "get" Dean. They were all schooled in theatrical diction (although Bogie himself took mumbling to a new level of art), and relied on directors to shape their roles. Dean was trained in the Lee Strasberg school of acting, with improvisation and method acting. His acting was very controlled, it just didn't look that way to the older actors--which is also why we think he was such a natural. There is a fabulous scene in East of Eden where his character Cal has just given his dad (Raymond Massey) a present which Massey has rejected. The script called for Dean to storm out of the room, and instead he stumbles toward Massey and flings his arms around him, crying. Watch Massey's face, next time you watch the movie--he is petrified! He has no idea what's going on, he has no lines to rely on, and he's just waiting for Kazan (the director) to yell "Cut!". But Kazan doesn't, he lets the camera roll, and we get a superb piece of acting by Dean. I wonder what Bogie would have done, if he'd been playing the father! (I love Bogie--Hollywood was fortunately big enough in those days to accommodate many different acting styles...)
Could Dean have become a truly great actor, had he lived? Who knows. He actually wanted to become a director. That I could easily imagine.
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