The James Dean Story (1957) User Reviews

Good for its time and still well worth to watch

[sno-smari-m · 6/10 · 4 November 2005]

I liked this documentary THE JAMES DEAN STORY a lot when I watched it for the first time. As I had not really seen any other documentaries about Dean to compare with, it provided me with much information about the actor unknown to me at the time. When I watch it again now, I realize that there have been made several more thorough, and perhaps less speculative documentaries about James Dean since this was first released in 1957. This documentary is clearly a product of its time; Dean had tragically passed away only two years before, and one senses that the film tries to present him in a way to match the expectations of his fans. Whereas some later documentaries (and biographies) have made a point of trying to separate the man and the myth, THE JAMES DEAN story is transparently calculating at times. The narrator Martin Gabel also speaks in rather calculating (if engaging) manner, as if able to walk into Dean's soul and read his thoughts (a side-note: Marlon Brando reportedly considered doing the narration, but finally declined). This film is clearly aimed at a popular audience, who has not been constantly fed with documentaries about anything and everything through TV such as today.

On the plus side, however, the documentary is not so overly concerned with Dean's status as a "Hollywood rebel" as one might expect. Much focus is also given to other aspects of his life than being a movie star, such as his interest in painting and playing the drums. Some of the interviews are also of interest; the recollections of the two bartenders whom Dean used to hang around with shed light on the cheerful, less solemn side of James Dean. The part where Dean's cousin Marcus (at that time about ten years old) reads out loud a letter he received from Dean a few months before the latter's sudden death is quite touching. Leith Stevens' jazzy soundtrack is excellent, and really fits the mood of the film. In the end, THE JAMES DEAN STORY is by all means worth to watch to anyone interested in the life and talent of James Dean, though there have been made more all-around satisfying documentaries since the time of its making. (This review has later been somewhat revised and updated)

The cost/benefit ratio is high

[bandw · 5/10 · 7 February 2010]

If you know anything about James Dean, then this movie will probably not add much to your knowledge. What we see of Dean is mainly through still photographs. Most of these are just portraits that add little to the film, but there is an occasional one that surprises, like a nice one of Dean enjoying himself in a ballet class. The scene of real interest, which is saved for the end, is from a black-and-white audition Dean did for "East of Eden."

The tone of the narration would be appropriate for the biopic of a saint--you are made to think that Dean's early death was some sort of national calamity.

There are several interviews with some of Dean's relatives, friends, and even some restaurant owners and taxi drivers. The depth of the questioning is often inane, such as when the interviewer asks the restaurant owners, "How was his appetite?" We watch as a previous friend rummages through a box of Dean's miscellaneous stuff like phone numbers and a note from his laundry. It seems that everything that Dean touched was sacred. We don't even get any insights from Dean's girlfriend, the one with whom, "for the first time he found the timid belief that life was possible."

The most frustrating thing about this film is the narration's constant speculations about Dean's motivations and thoughts. For example, consider this, "He took his envy to the beach. He looked at the ocean and he was jealous of its power. He envied the gulls for having found each other. He envied them their freedom and their solitary flights. Suddenly he knew that as an actor he could be the ocean and flood everything with his power. As an actor he could be a gull." A good part of the movie is filled with such florid prose that has no basis in fact. Amid all of the speculations there is none about the common one of Dean's being homosexual, or bisexual. He supposedly avoided the draft by registering as a homosexual.

The main question I have always had about Dean is the extent to which he manufactured his own myth of being the sensitive, misunderstood, moody, independent intellectual. This film got me no closer to answering that.

Good

[Cosmoeticadotcom · 6/10 · 1 September 2010]

There is something very appealing about a documentary that dares to psychologize its subject (if not to the point of the Self digression), because so many documentaries, these days, try to feign objectivity to the breaking point, even when, ala Michael Moore, their position- pro or con, is manifest from the get-go. Similarly, the personal accounts of Dean seem far more genuine than later documentaries in which interviewees seem to mug for the camera, and pull apocryphal tales out of their asses, just to get their own lousy fifteen minutes in the sun. The interviewees here are speaking contemporaneously, before Dean's legend really took off, and there is none of the deliberate or unintended fuzzing of memories towards the better angels of Dean's nature.

The lone exception to this particular good quality of the film, is a scene where Altman gets the family and friends of Dean to re-enact their reactions to first hearing of Dean's death in a car crash of his Porsche on September 30th, 1955. What makes this section so poor a piece of filmmaking is the fact that earlier, we get to listen to a surreptitiously recorded 'real' conversation between Dean and his relatives, and the contrast between that and the 'scripted' parts is so great. Also, the film makes good use of the slow panning technique over still photographs that would later be used so successfully by documentarian Ken Burns. However, a caveat should be noted, and that is that the reason the technique works so well in the film is that the source photos are so intriguing. Yes, Dean comes off as a terminal narcissist, but he really did know how to strike the pose, and surround himself with photographer pals to immortalize himself.

That said, the film, even at its mere 79 minutes of length, tends to wear a bit thin after the hour mark, because the reality is that Dean, despite this film's best intentions and claims, was not a particularly good actor. He was a relentless and born ham, and one need only watch Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, vis-à-vis Dean, to see the gulf between good and mediocre Method actors. Yet, while scenes from his films are few, there are some good passages with some of Dean's friends from New York and Los Angeles restaurants, some outtakes from films, newsreels of the opening of Giant, and a Public Service Announcement for safe driving, which more than make up for the film's deficiencies. Thus, The James Dean Story is a film and DVD worth watching, even if there are no extras, for its dated style becomes that rare quality that enhances even as it detracts. When was the last time you engaged a piece of art you could say even that of?

Day of the Anti-Hero

[Goingbegging · 6/10 · 3 October 2019]

Dying young is always a smart career move, and never more so than by James Dean after his astonishingly short career of just six months the lot. We can too easily imagine this petulant, self-absorbed problem-kid living on into the Sixties and boring the pants off us with protest and psycho-babble. But his glory days - so brief, so intense - came and went at just the right moment, when audiences were needing a rest from too much conventional virility in their screen heroes. The idea of an angry teenager hiding a sensitive, vulnerable side seemed to intrigue many. There is no doubt that it touched the maternal in female viewers. And after Dean's dramatic death, many young males liked to see themselves as enigmatic figures with tragedy hovering. (Scriptwriter Stewart Stern even picks up a hint of emotional blackmail: "It could happen to me too, Mom.")

Stern also points out that Dean's origins in the small-town Indiana of cornfields and prairie did not exactly chime with that tortured personality that seemed so metropolitan, like the Actor's Studio from which he promptly dropped out. The clunking interviews with locals who remember the boy next door (generally fondly) were plainly rehearsed, and the extensive use of still pictures instead of the expected movie-clips does nothing to raise the production values, whatever Stern may have meant by "dynamic exploration of the still photograph".

One of these stills shows a school report, where his temporary enthusiasm for art is acknowledged, alongside another reference to Safety Driving Training - ironical indeed, as is his brief involvement in a documentary movie about car safety. On that sensitive topic, I was surprised not to hear the widely-credited story of Alec Guinness warning him of a premonition that Dean would shortly die in an accident if he continued to drive that new Porsche. It happened in a week.

Somewhat Stilted but Penetrating Biography of the 50s Icon

[l_rawjalaurence · 7/10 · 6 May 2016]

Released two years after Dean's death at the untimely age of twenty-four, THE JAMES DEAN STORY is a valuable document as it includes interviews with many of the family and close friends who knew him - his grandmother, his aunt and uncle, his acquaintances in New York and Hollywood, and other workers who befriended him. Sometimes their testimonies seem somewhat stilted on screen, as if co-directors Robert Altman and George W. George had rehearsed their dialogue beforehand and were prompting them into making reactions. On the other hand their love for Dean seems palpable, despite his reputation for being difficult.

Narrated by theater actor and sometime director Martin Gabel, the film paints a portrait of a troubled personality whose father and mother died young and who was brought up in rural Indiana by his aunt and uncle. Although extremely helpful with the chores, young Dean always appeared lonely, as if in search for something he could never access. Apparently he used to spend a lot of time under a favorite tree, that not only served as a place of sanctuary but gave him the time and space to reflect.

He cut his theatrical teeth at school, and then decided to make the big move from Indiana to New York. After a short time in the wilderness, he landed a role in the short-lived production SEE THE JAGUAR (1952), but shot to stardom two years later in THE IMMORALIST, adapted by Ruth and Augustus Goetz from the novel by André Gide. His raw energy, stimulated by loneliness, produced an electrifying performance that outshone those of his costars Geraldine Page and Louis Jourdain.

Yet this was not enough for him - after a dispute with the producer, Dean walked out on THE IMMORALIST to seek his fortune in Hollywood. After spending many nights sequestered in local hostelries, hobnobbing with stars and hangers-on, he landed a leading role in EAST OF EDEN (1955), directed by Elia Kazan. The rest, as they say, is history.

Gabel's narration sounds a little portentous at times, but nonetheless we are given a portrait of a complex personality at once alienated from yet keenly desirous of praise from the world. His career really took off with the help of father-figure directors such as Kazan and Nicholas Ray, who understood his potential and made every effort to develop it. Dean was a mercurial actor - even more so than his illustrious contemporary Marlon Brando - who never gave the same performance twice, either on stage or screen. If a director could develop that raw energy, then they could be assured of a memorable performance from him.

True to the spirit of the late Fifties, we are not told about the actor's alleged bisexuality. Our attention focuses rather on the way in which the actor did not perform on screen at all, but simply drew upon his perpetual feelings of alienation and loneliness to produce a series of electrifying screen characterizations. Truly he was an icon of the times, whose early demise only served to enhance his legendary status.

Feeding the Myth Monster

[wes-connors · 2/10 · 31 July 2008]

"The James Dean Story" is introduced as "A different kind of motion picture," explaining, "The presence of the leading character in this film has been made possible by the use of existing motion picture material, tape recordings of his voice and by means of a new technique - dynamic exploration of the still photograph." The only "tape recordings of his voice" noteworthy is one short recording Mr. Dean make while visiting his family in Indiana; he wanted to record any family recollections of his great-grandfather Cal Dean, intrigued because he played a similarly named "Cal" in "East of Eden". Dean asks if Cal Dean was interested in art, and learns the relative was an auctioneer. James Dean was interested in art and had warm relationship with his family, obviously. That's the only 100% accurate revelation in this documentary. James Dean was interested in art and had warm relationship with his family.

An amazing "screen test"/"outtake" from "East of Eden" appears near the film's end. It's a black and white scene between Dean (as Cal Trask) and co-star Richard Davalos (as Aron Trask). Dean is at his mesmerizing best. If this scene appeared only here, and no "East of Eden" film was completed, this documentary would be an essential, high rated film. But the scene, a perfect "10" in isolation, should be considered an "East of Eden" extra. Dean's "Traffic Safety Film" is also worth seeing.

There are the expected interviews with family and friends. My favorites were the guy (Lew Bracker) going through a box of stuff Dean left with him, and Dean's family. There wasn't enough from Aunt Ortense and the letter from Dean to his little cousin was very nice. More reading of Dean's letters would have been welcome. Dean's unidentified writer friend seemed to have a better thesis for the film; filmmakers might have considered developing it as a main focus.

Robert Altman's direction of Martin Gabel's reading of Stewart Stern's script is dreadful. What were they thinking? Perhaps, filmmakers can be forgiven due to the closeness of Dean's passing. Don't expect "The James Dean Story" at all. This movie is more about Dean's effect on people (both the fans and filmmakers) than the man. It is very clearly an early piece of the James Dean myth-making "legend". Tommy Sands sings "Let Me Be Loved". The narrative refers to Dean as "He" with a god-like air. The shots of Dean's family seeming to "know" the moment he dies are truly wretched.

** The James Dean Story (8/13/57) Robert Altman ~ James Dean, Martin Gabel, Richard Davalos

A tribute to Dean whilst his legacy had only just begun.

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 9/10 · 24 July 2018]

I remember reading about this documentary many years ago and felt quite intrigued. The timing for this feature length tribute was just right. Released for the cinema in 1957, "The James Dean Story" really captures the spirit of the man as well as the star. It's great to see people who knew Dean being interviewed and that counts for a great deal. All the major aspects of Jimmy Dean are covered: the loss of his mother at a young age, his initial efforts in the field of acting, how Dean was thought of as a person and other aspects besides. The narrator does a fine job of guiding the viewer through the documentary and his voice is commanding.

It's a documentary about us; Dean was Altman's opportunity to make it.

[housebluehill · 16 September 2004]

I watched the movie because Robert Altman directed it, but I'd assumed it was going to be a straight forward documentary of Dean's life. Then about half way through it something didn't feel right. The people being interviewed spoke like they were on automatic pilot and the childhood photographs chosen for the movie had the quality of a spoof. I watched it a second time and realized it was Altman's documentary of the American Celebrity Cult, not James Dean. Our devotion to movie actors was reaching a new zenith in the 1950's and the life and death of Dean was a timely example of it. It's a movie about us in the same way Nashville is, or A Wedding, or Short Cuts.

Some Key Omissions

[dougdoepke · 29 September 2022]

That first part tracking Dean's growing-up years in small town Indiana is almost poetically rendered. Dean appears an average kid participating in normal school activities, with little hint of the near-tortured soul of later life. The docu itself amounts to a succession of photographs centering on Dean, and are woven together by a very listenable narrator (Gabel), along with a few scattered interviews of family and friends. Generally those contents follow Dean's life in rough chronological order from Indiana to New York to Hollywood and finally to a lonely California road. All in all, the main point appears an effort at penetrating the nature of Dean's tortured soul, its where's and why's. How successfuly the effort does is up to the viewer to decide.

Several points about the account are worth noting. First, there's very little about the actor's career in movie's or TV. So don't expect to see out-takes from either. The narrative's concern is much more with Dean the person than with Dean the celebrity. So don't expect to see much of star-studded Hollywood. Secondly, there's little on the young man's romantic life, except for an anguished clip from an emotional Arlene Sax. Just what the extent of their involvement is left unrevealed, while there's no clippage from actress Pier Angeli with whom he's usually identified. Lastly, there's next to nothing on how Dean supported himself during those struggling apprentice years, a seemingly important element in his life story that also remains largely untouched.

Perhaps these neglected points have something to do with the year the docu was produced, namely 1957. At that point, Hollywood was still trying to cleanse its public image from the taint of nefarious doings claimed by the McCarthy, HUAC hearings of the early 50's. At the same time, about the only thing worse than being gay was being a communist. Thus rumors of Dean's being at least bi-sexual if not simply gay would have sullied his growing iconic image during that highly conservative period. Now, I'm not claiming this as factual reason for the general omissions, but it is a possibility given the nature of the era.

However you take that, there's plenty in the footage to interest Dean fans both old (like me) and new. Then too, a thanks to whoever rescued the docu from what's an apprently self-imposed exile, and also to Amazon for making the footage public. So, if you can, catch up with a cultural icon that somehow managed to escape that lonely California road.

Mediocre documentary of Dean's life

[arneblaze · 23 December 2002]

This 1957 documentary was thrown together to capitalize on the Dean legend and hopefully cash in on it. Out of luck - even Dean's ardent fans avoided this turkey. Using still photography and a morose narrator, Martin Gabel, this contains little useful information not already known about Dean. Interviews with family and neighbors back home shed little light - they are so terminally dull and brimming with flat affect, one is astonished that Dean's fluidity of expression and sensitivity grew out of this environment. Of some value is an outtake from EAST OF EDEN (presented here in dimly lit black and white) between Dean and Davalos. It's a gruelling 82 minutes.