(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.]
No comments:
Post a Comment