Elia Kazan

East Of Eden Elia Kazan

Elia Kazan's classic adaptation of Steinbeck's novel, set in a small farming valley in California in 1917. Two brothers rival for the love of their stern, overbearing, widowed father (Raymond Massey). However, when Cal (James Dean), the rejected 'rebel' son, discovers that his mother (Jo Van Fleet) is not dead but running a nearby brothel, he decides to tell his brother (Richard Davalos).

This spiteful decision soon leads to the destruction of his relationship with his brother, who in a drunken frenzy runs off to enlist in an army unit being shipped overseas to the battlefields of France. Unable to bear the loss of his favourite son, Cal's pacifist father breaks down completely. The film was nominated for four Oscars with Van Fleet winning for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Kazan also won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Dean was posthumously given a Golden Globe Special Achievement Award for Best Dramatic Actor.