A dramatization of the story of legendary movie actor James Dean. The film's writer, William Bast, had roomed with Dean in the early '50s, when both were trying to break into films as actors... Read allA dramatization of the story of legendary movie actor James Dean. The film's writer, William Bast, had roomed with Dean in the early '50s, when both were trying to break into films as actors.A dramatization of the story of legendary movie actor James Dean. The film's writer, William Bast, had roomed with Dean in the early '50s, when both were trying to break into films as actors.
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- Jan
- (as Heather Menzies)
- Secretary
- (as Chris White)
- Psychiatrist
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaChristine White, who plays a secretary, was once James Dean's real-life girlfriend. They were accepted into the Actors Studio together. This film was her final one.
- Quotes
[opening narration]
Narrator: His name was James Byron Dean. He was an actor. He died in 1955 at the age of 24. He had starred in just three pictures, only one of which had been released prior to his death. Yet before he was in his grave he was already a myth. What you are about to see is one man's recollection - an image of the actor as seen through the eyes of a friend. Like all memories in is intensely personal, elusive and incomplete - yet it refuses to die.
- ConnectionsReferences The James Dean Story (1957)
Told from the refreshingly limited viewpoint of his off and on roommate William Bast (who went on to be a reasonably successful TV and Film writer) the movie touches on the pivotal events of Dean's life and career like a stone skipping across water. The focus is very much on Bast's up close witnessing of Dean's improbable, mind-blowing emergence from awkward hayseed wanna-be into the most emblematic actor of his generation.
Considering that he doesn't look incredibly like Dean (McHattie's face is flinty and pentagonal whereas Dean's was chiseled and rectangular) McHattie does a remarkable job duplicating the body language and facial expressions - the slouched shoulders, sudden movements, furtive looks and exaggerated boyishness. The director frames and lights him in clever ways and there are times when, spookily, you really do feel like you're looking in on Dean's life. McHattie also captures that alien, kaleidoscopic, wildly unpredictable quality - no easy task. He gives you a sense of the development of the persona, the fine-tuning of the image he was trying to project to the world. His Dean almost seems like a mad scientist working on his most diabolical Frankenstein creation - himself.
Makes a nice companion to "9/30/55", another poignant meditation on the actor.
Details
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- Also known as
- James Dean: Portrait of a Friend
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro