Wild adolescent Cal Trask finds out that his mother, 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.
We’re in Cain and Abel territory, and the biblical parallels are rammed home by Elia Kazan’s heavy-handed direction.
The film features James Dean in his first starring role, in which – as Cal – he embodies the frustrations of American teenagers.
It was writer Paul Osborn who recommended Dean, 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.
Cal Trask
James Dean Abra
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
Director
Elia Kazan
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