Ep914: EAST OF EDEN (1955) - Movie Review
Get your brood on with Ian and Don as they review East of Eden!
Elia Kazan's 1955 adaptation of the acclaimed John Steinbeck novel is a 20th Century retelling of the Biblical Cain and Abel story. In his feature film debut, James Dean stars as Cal Trask, a troubled youth who wants nothing more than the love of his father (Raymond Massey)--and to learn the truth about his long-believed-dead mother. Cal's brother, Aaron (Richard Davalos), is the favored son with the cool girlfriend Julie Harris), and thinning patience for his brother's wild antics.
In this spoilerific and wide-ranging conversation, the guys look at how East of Eden slots into Dean's short but brilliant career; dig into the screenplay's thickly layered allegories; and gradually uncover a dark side to Dean's sensitive-bad-boy film persona that neither of them had considered before!
Show Links
Watch the East of Eden (1955) trailer.
Own East of Eden on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, now available from Warner Bros. Home Video.
Watch Earth's Mightiest Critics' round table review of Barbie (mentioned in the show).
Watch our round table review of James Dean's other hit movie from 1955, Rebel Without a Cause!
Watch Ian and Dr. AC's review of The Haunting (1963), also starring Julie Harris.
Get educated with Don Shanahan at Every Movie Has a Lesson…
…and Film Obsessive
...and the Cinephile Hissy Fit Podcast.
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