It is 1917, just before the United States’ entry into World War I and two brothers are graduating from High School at a time of great social change. James Dean gives a powerful performance as Cal, rebelling against his farmer father and slowly coming to grips with the secrets and betrayals his family have kept from him. Using biblical metaphors and Freudian symbolism Kazan delivers a hard-hitting and emotionally intense drama based on the latter half of John Steinbeck’s novel. Though Dean’s performance as the psychologically scarred son stands out, other performers such as Burl Ives, Julie Harris and Jo Van Fleet are equally fine.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Stream, rent or buy via
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
302743
Language
English
Audience classification
PG
Subject categories
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Literature → American literature - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)