Caleb and Aron Trask are brothers living in Salinas Valley with their father in 1917. Their father is very religious, and while Aron is the responsible one, wild adolescent Cal is more adrift.
Cal (James Dean) finds out that his mother, Kate (Jo Van Fleet), long believed dead, is actually running a brothel in a nearby town.
The discovery proves traumatic for Cal and signals the break-up of his already strained relationship with his austere father and his brother, Aron (Richard Davalos).
We’re in Cain and Abel territory, and the biblical parallels are rammed home by Elia Kazan’s heavy-handed direction.
The film – based on a John Steinbeck novel – features Dean in his first starring role. It was writer Paul Osborn who recommended him, though Kazan was set on casting Marlon Brando.
But when Kazan met Dean – “a heap of twisted legs and denim rags, looking resentful for no particular reason” – he recognised the potential.
Jo Van Fleet won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in East of Eden.
Caleb “Cal” Trask
James Dean Abra Bacon
Julie Harris Adam Trask
Raymond Massey Kate Trask
Jo Van Fleet Aron Trask
Richard Davalos Will
Albert Dekker Ann
Lois Smith Albrecht
Harold Gordon Joe
Timothy Carey Piscora
Mario Siletti Roy
Lonny Chapman Rantani
Nick Dennis Sheriff
Burl Ives
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The discovery proves traumatic for Cal and signals the break-up of his already strained relationship with his austere father and his brother, Aron (Richard Davalos).
The film – based on a John Steinbeck novel – features Dean in his first starring role. It was writer Paul Osborn who recommended him, though Kazan was set on casting Marlon Brando.
Jo Van Fleet won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in East of Eden.
Albrecht
