Wednesday, May 15, 2013

A Forgotten Classic: East of Eden


(1955, Elia Kazan Dir., Stars: James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris, David Davolos, Jo Van fleet & Burl Ives)

     Elia Kazan’s 1955 production “East of Eden” is remembered by most as the big screen debut of legend James Dean, the only film Dean made that was released before his untimely death in 1955. But before I fall into the all-too-easy trap of relating to “East of Eden” as strictly a James Dean picture let’s remember that when this film was made, Elia Kazan was a widely respected and bankable director, John Steinbeck – whose novel this film is based upon – was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and James Dean was nobody. “East of Eden” would be one of Warner Bros. biggest films in 1955, and it would have nothing to do with Dean... At least, that’s what people were thinking at that time.

Paul Osborn’s Oscar-nominated script, depicting primarily the final third of Steinbeck’s novel, is a subtly layered and thinly veiled re-telling of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Set in 1917 Monterrey County two brothers, Cal (James Dean) and Aron (David Davalos) Trask, vie for the affections of their father Adam (Raymond Massey) as well as Aron’s girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris), who cannot help an innocent but undeniable chemistry with Cal. “East of Eden’s” plot is sprawling, at once simple yet complex and thematically rich as Cal seeks the origins of his wild restlessness in his estranged mother, Kate (Jo Van Fleet), while simultaneously seeking his pious father’s love and approval. Lies, envy and rejection eventually bring Cal to force Aron to confront the truth of their mother’s life and less-than-immaculate circumstances. The Trask family is brought to ruin, but in those ruins the seeds of understanding and love are sown in the end.

The role of Cal would become the template for all of Dean’s future roles, all both of them: untamed, brooding, misunderstood, confused by his own feelings along with those of the people around him and consequently alienated. As said above, though, lest we forget “East of Eden” was never intended to be solely a James Dean film, we must consider the other fine actors and their performances. Jo Van Fleet garnered an Academy Award for her portrayal of Kate, a business savvy whorehouse Madame who like her son Cal balked at Adam’s controlling righteousness. Raymond Massey, who portrays Adam, does so with a vulnerable humanity, bringing dimension a character who could so have easily been dismissed as upright and uptight. (Fun Factoid: According to the IMDb, in order to help Massey get into character showing the animosity between Cal and Adam, James Dean made a constant pain in the ass of himself to the elder actor!) Julie Harris’s Abra is a charming sweetheart but also a young woman of keen understanding, the only one who ever attempts to relate to Cal on his own painful level. Even Burl Ives, best known to most nowadays as narrator Sam the Snowman in the Rankin-Bass holiday special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, delivers as the folksy yet wise Sam the Sheriff. Sam is the only voice of reason or authority to ever talk “with” Cal, and not “to” him.

     While some could arguably accuse Elia Kazan of style abuse from the number of askew Dutch angles employed, there is no denying that “East of Eden” is pure 1950s cinema at its best. Photographed in ultra-wide Cinemascope I remember seeing this film when it was re-released to theaters in the 1980s; I sat forward in my seat cradling my chin in my hands and looking in awe from one side of the screen to the other, incapable of taking it all in at once! This film’s imagery is powerful with vibrant but natural colors (filmed in Warner-color, not the garish opulence of Technicolor) and possessing depths of unobtrusive symbolism that are the hallmark of a great visual story teller. In the first scene between Cal, Aron and Abra, Cal remains an obscure figure lurking behind willow branches, a man of primal emotion as opposed to the more saintly and civilized Aron who walks in the sun carrying his and Abra’s schoolbooks. Much later in the film Abra runs to comfort a heart-broken Cal who has taken refuge under the branches of a willow tree; it is there that they kiss for the first time and surrender to the natural feelings both were denying for fear of hurting Aron. Brilliant. Simple. Kazan’s use of the willows is only one example his skillful craftsmanship in “East of Eden”, yet the allegory is unassuming enough not to confound the casual movie watcher.

     If pushed I’d have to admit that “East of Eden” is not a great film, but it is a damned good one! It is a film that everyone – not just James Dean fans – should see at least once; a classic work well worthy of appreciation and memory.
     [“East of Eden” is available through Netflix. Also, at the time of this writing there are select scenes and the film’s original theatrical trailer available on YouTube should you wish to get a taste of this film before committing it to your watch list.]

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