| Hollywood - Part Two |
| But the dream ended. It was necessary to leave; and it was on a white and freezing morning when Jimmy saw Fairmount for the last time. The series of photos were finished in New York, basically in Times Square. The very well known pictures of Jimmy wrapped in his overcoat walking in the rain belongs to these series. In March, they were finally published in Life Magazine under the title Moody New Star. The premiere of East of Eden was on March 9th at the Astor Theater in New York, with attendance of all the personalities at the time. The ticket cost 50 dollars and the programs were delivered by Marilyn Monroe. Jimmy, the most anticipated star of the evening, didn’t show up. “That one was the only scene I wasn’t going to play,” he said. “East of Eden is the first film to give us a Baudelairean hero, fascinated by vice and honor, who can embody both love and hate at the same time... James Dean has succeeded in making commercial a film which was scarcely so, in bringing to life an abstraction, and in arousing the interest of a huge audience in moral problems dealt with in an unusual manner... His myopic gaze prevents him from smiling, and the smile which can be drawn out of him with patience is a victory. His power of seduction is such - you should have heard the audience’s reaction when Raymond Massey refuses the money which equals - that he could kill both his mother and father on the screen every night with the blessing of art cinema audiences and popular audiences alike.” “The young people today identify completely with James Dean in every way, less than the ones adducing: violence, sadism, hysteria, pessimism, cruelty but with other infinitely more simple and daily reasons: shame of the feelings, fantasy of each moment, sense of purity but far from regular morality and more strict, eternal preference for adolescence, ecstasy, pride and complaint for feeling an outsider, rejection and wish to integrate to the society and finally accept or deny the world just as it is.” “His acting goes against fifty years of film making. Each gesture, each attitude, each mime is a slap in the face of tradition. James Dean doesn’t “show off” the script by using understatement. He is not anxious to show that he understands perfectly what he is saying. He acts beyond what he is saying and he always shifts the expression and the thing expressed. James Dean acting is more animal than human. This is what makes it unpredictable. He can begin to turn his back to the camera whilst speaking, throw his head back or roll it forwards, he can raise his arms or push them forward. He belongs to those who pay no heed to rules and laws.” Cahiérs du Cinema, No. 56 LES HARICOTS DU MAL, François Truffaut, February 1956 “Jimmy Dean, who made only three pictures, East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant, had everything going for him. He was not only on his way to becoming a good actor, but he had a personality and presence that made audiences curios about him, as well as looks and vulnerability that women found especially appealing. They wanted to take care of him. He was sensitive, and there were elements of surprise in his personality. He wasn’t volcanic or dynamic, but he had a subtle energy and an intangible injured quality that had a tremendous impact on audiences. Like me, he became a symbol of social change during the 1950's by happenstance. Rebel Without a Cause was a story about a new lost generation of young people, and the reaction to it, like that to The Wild One, was a sign of tremors that were beginning to quake beneath the surface of our culture.” From SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME, Marlon Brando with Robert Lindsey (pgs. 221 and 222). Rebel Without a Cause - 1955 In 1946, Warner Brothers got the rights to the book by Dr. Robert Lindner about juvenile delinquency. MGM produced Blackboard Jungle and Warner Brothers planned on making something too. They assigned Nicolas Ray as director, a man concerned with the problems of kids growing up. He was very enthusiastic to bring this matter to the film, and asked to go deeper in the project. Warner agreed. Also, Ray gave Jimmy the freedom to create the role and encouraged him to mold the movie. “Rebel Without a Cause will remain a masterpiece, because it is the American Cinema’s only Greek Tragedy.” William Faulkner. Nicolas Ray tried to follow the classical form of Greek Tragedy, not only regarding the concept of the hero, but also in the concept of time, place and action. The hero is an epic character whose actions surpass those of the average human being. The force that drives him is always a sense of duty, not to others, but to himself. The hero is a tragic character because his own life is ruled by destiny. The hero is driven to attain immortality and fulfill his destiny through his accomplishments. (“The Greeks,” Kitto). The character of Jim Stark, consummate tragic hero and consequently the exact opposite of East of Eden’s Cal Trask, was created by Jimmy in an outstanding way. The film was shot from March to May of 1955 in Los Angeles. Dawson Preparatory is actually Santa Monica University, where Jimmy attended in 1949 to assent to his father. The very well known scene of the jackknives and the closing scene with the police were filmed at the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles. Jimmy prepared the police station scene in his dressing room listening to “Ride of the Valkyries,” composed by Wagner. Attentive spectators are able to hear him humming the melody on the screen. “... In all the immensity of our universe and the galaxies beyond, the earth will not be missed. Through the infinite reaches of space, the problems of man seem trivial and naive indeed, and man, existing alone, seems himself an episode of little consequence.” Quote from a Professor from the Planetarium Jimmy rented a small bungalow on 1541 Sunset Plaza Drive in Los Angeles. “I’ve never met anyone with the ability of Dean. He cannot be compared with any actor, present or past.” Nicolas Ray to Halperin, May 23 of ‘55 Rebel Without A Cause turned out to be a classic juvenile movie which ironically Jimmy never watched................. In January, 1955, Jimmy played in The Thief, a small, beautiful piece on the newly developed television. Well directed, good script, and good production by the Theater Guild. However, some critics say that this was Jimmy’s most artificial TV role. But his tremendous presence on the screen reached its highest point on the show that was going to be his last one, a true gem of talent. Jimmy’s temperament was genuinely displayed on this show for CBS. The Unlighted Road, filmed on April 14th and aired on May 6, 1955. The producer was William Self, the director was Justus Addis and the scripter Walter Brown. The other roles were played by Pat Hardy and Murvyn Vye. The director was very careful with Jimmy, but rehearsals were, as usual, a little bit difficult. Testimonies said that Jimmy ignored the director’s orders and did absolutely what he wanted to do. Unavoidable. “I’m a serious-minded and intense little devil, terrible gauche and so tense, I don’t know how people stay in the same room with me.” Jimmy to the Los Angeles Times and to Photoplay In those days of April, Jimmy signed a contract with Warner to make Giant. The stars were Rock Hudson, from Universal Studios with a salary of $175,000, and Elizabeth Taylor, from MGM with a salary of $100,000. Jimmy, with a supporting role, was going to get paid $1,500 a week, around $21,000. Warner had gotten the rights to the novel by Edna Ferber and the film created a superproduction following the “Hollywood new style.” On May 18th, during the shooting of Rebel, Warner Brothers offered a fancy lunch reception as a presentation of the book, the director and the actors to the press. Jimmy arrived late, didn’t take off his glasses, not even for pictures, didn’t stand up when he was introduced, didn’t say a word and after eating, put his feet on the table in his usual way. (Please see picture of the party on page 54). Jimmy had planned to come back to Indiana after finishing Rebel, but he had to immediately join the cast of Giant, which had started filming already two weeks before. Not only couldn’t he come to Fairmount, but literally he had just enough time to change clothes because he was attending post recording sessions for Rebel until June 3rd at 4:30 p.m. At 7:00 that day, he took the plane to Texas. The movie was shot in Marfa, Texas, a small town of 2,000 inhabitants in the middle of the desert, where Warner built the gothic mansion called “Reata.” The isolation and distance separated Jimmy from Rebel Without a Cause forever With his amazing actor’s dedication, he captured the nasal Texas accent, the exact cadence, the lonely and rough appeal appropriate for his Jett Rink. He captured the melancholy humor of the man who talks more with himself than with others. In an unforgettable long shot, the camera shows his figure in the distance, presenting the character that would be, without a doubt, the most captivating of the movie. “At the time, I felt he was a boy I had to care for. But even that was probably his joke. I don’t think he needed anybody or anything except his acting.” Elizabeth Taylor Elizabeth Taylor was his close and only friend during Giant. She had a lot of fun with his jokes and tricks and even had some getaways together which appeared on Warner Brother’s Daily Report as a “double absence.” Nobody could ever figure out where they used to go. He was so nervous for the first scene with Liz that he couldn’t even talk. So he apologized and walked a few steps away on the sand and urinated in front of the whole crew, then came back and started the scene again. Later he would confess that he figured that if he could piss in front of 100 people, then he would be able to get in front of the camera and act with Elizabeth Taylor. And he did. The sequence is amazing. Jimmy also studied the lasso and other ranch abilities. He learned so well that he delivered some “rodeo” exhibitions, as several pictures captured on the set. The fellow who taught him lassoing techniques is Bob Hinckle, who still gives a touching speech each September 30th at the Memorial Service in Fairmount. People say that when the wardrobe arrived in Marfa, Jimmy tore into the boxes. He got dressed as Jett Rink immediately. And he didn’t change his shirt after that. He lost a button (as we can see in the pictures) and later he cut the sleeves. In the Museum, we can see his personal script-book with a lot of absent-minded drawings, notes, telephone numbers... He was getting bored... Stevens used to shoot every scene from 10 or 15 different angles. He summoned the actors very early in the morning and in the afternoon they still hadn’t even made a take. Also, Stevens didn’t accept any suggestions. None. A year later, when Giant was finally edited, Stevens realized the mistake he had made. He wasted Jimmy’s talent. For example, Jimmy suggested that Jett should have a flask in his pocket and drink from it by himself instead of drinking with the Beneditts. “What Jimmy wanted to do would have been the cutest bit in the movie. His point was that it had to do with pride - Jett was too proud to take a drink from their table, for example. Usually I think I know a character better than anyone, but what I told Jimmy was damn wrong. His idea was too damn smart, and he didn’t explain it to me, so I didn’t get it then. But he really knew that character, and that’s the best tribute I can pay to his talent as an actor.” - George Stevens, director of Giant “In front of the camera he had an instinct that was nearly uncanny. I don’t recall ever working with anyone who has such a gift. He was in shadow and had to lift his head to the light. We explained how it should go and he seemed to plan it exactly right to the half-inch first time. He seemed to know how it should be, without rehearsal or anything.” - Director of Photography on Giant, William Mellor “He gave the impression of being completely natural and improvising as he went along. But no single detail was ever impromptu. He had everything figured out... an actor working on inspiration alone couldn’t do this... he had his own approach to acting and it was something elusive that nobody else ever tried on the screen.” - Director of Giant George Stevens “In every word and gesture there was a poetic presence. I used to feel that he was a disturbed boy, tremendously dedicated to some intangible beacon of his own - and neither he nor anyone else might ever know what it was.” - George Stevens Rock Hudson’s character, Bick Beneditt, tells Jimmy’s Jett Rink in a very bad mood:“For you it’s better to vanish.” Jimmy removes the Stetson back from his yes. Lee Strasberg says: “That gesture was Jimmy’s idea...now everyone does it... to remove the cowboy hat back... it is actually a usual gesture. But when Jimmy did it....... nobody had done it before.” In spite of his shortage of appearances in the film, the people who watched it cannot forget the way he pours the tea to Leslie, his face coming out of the shadow in the mansion hall, the rifle across his shoulders... and many other things... Following the model of Gone With the Wind, each big sequence opens and closes with panoramic sweeps, giving the film an epic tone. Stevens, belonging to the old Hollywood style, didn’t believe in the participation of the actor in the film’s creation. Also, he shot 600,000 feet of film, and even later he just used 25,000. This was horrible for an actor like Jimmy, who was always alone on the set, waiting to perform, bad tempered and sleepy. Hours and hours of waiting. Sometimes all day long. He rented a bungalow in San Fernando Valley, 14611 Sutton Street, Sherman Oaks, where he was sheltered from everything. He became acquainted with two new friends: Sandford and Beulah Roth, an intellectual couple who described Jimmy at the time as “intense, timid, devoted to his career and an enigma for most of the people.” The second part of Giant caused lots of critical reviews. Jimmy didn’t want to consent, but he was obligated to get older during the movie. He dyed his hair grey, shaved his hairline up. It was all in vain; the impressive morphology of his face resisted everything. . After the last attempt, in a tender moment with Leslie, Jimmy entered the final scene, “the supper,” where absolutely drunk he confronted his Jett Rink’s speech. Testimonials said that Jimmy hated the sequence. Fate made the job: his words turned out to be unintelligible in the editing of the film months later, so the scene needed to be completely dubbed. It was borne (as well as the responsibility) by Nick Adams, one of Rebel’s boys. The National Safety Council often asked celebrities to donate a few minutes of their time to do a TV spot about safe driving. The slogan was “The life you can save might be yours.” The Council asked Warner Bros. about the possibility of Jimmy making one specially for the young drivers. Jimmy said no, but as they insisted, he stormed to the stage and made the interview in one take. Wearing Jett Rink’s wardrobe, delivering his usual shyness and playing with a rope, he talks with Gig Young, the reporter. This commercial is a testimonial of incalculable value and gives us by tragic paradox, the last footage of Jimmy. It was filmed on September 17, 1955. Of course, it has survived and it is included in complete form in Robert Altman’s documentary. When the interview finishes, Jimmy stands up, walks to the door and smiles because he knows he is going to surprise Gig. He changes the sentence, saying “Take it easy driving. The life you might save might be mine.” He was prophetic. |
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