Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on July 5, 2015

In Elia Kazan’s classic John Steinbeck adaptation East of Eden (1955) Carey is a pimp/bodyguard for Jo Van Fleet’s character in a brothel she runs and is ordered to throw her son Cal (played by James Dean) out the door when he comes to see her. Right away you notice a spark of brutality and weirdness from Carey’s arrival onscreen. As preparation for his role as “Joe” the pimp, Carey tried mumbling all his lines because he thought it was “how pimps talked”. At a certain point Kazan got so angry at his annoying interpretation, he stabbed Carey with a pen in the shoulder. He and Dean actually became friends during the production. One day they went on a car ride through Salinas after which Carey stated he would never get in a car with him again due to his reckless driving habits. Dean would later die in what is now an infamous car crash.

– Peter (just Peter), “Mad As Hell Heroes: TIMOTHY CAREY… What a Character!”; Furious Cinema, November 11, 2013

Video of the Week: “East of Eden”

Posted by Marisa on October 30, 2013

Our video this week comes to us once again via the good people at Movieclips.com. It’s the famous scene from Elia Kazan‘s East of Eden (1955) in which Cal Trask (James Dean) confronts his long-lost mother Kate (Jo Van Fleet, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for this, her first film role), the owner of a house of ill repute.

In his Movie Stars Parade article “The Highways of Heaven,” Timothy related the tale of shooting this scene with Dean:

“Then I lifted my fist to hit him again, missed, hit a pipe and broke my knuckles. Some blood began to trickle, but I wanted to continue with the scene. Only Jimmy wouldn’t let me. He didn’t care when his own blood was oozing, but at the sight of my blood he became compassionate.

‘It’s all right, Jimmy,’ I insisted. ‘Let’s go.’

‘No,’ Jimmy was firm. ‘Let’s get the nurse.’

This guy was a human being. He really cared about my knuckles bleeding. I could drop dead on the set, and most people would say, ‘Lower the crumb right down.’ Not Jimmy. He valued me.”

Pic of the Day: “East of Eden” (1955) revisited

Posted by Marisa on August 23, 2013

We close the work week with another look at Elia Kazan‘s East of Eden (1955). Joe the bouncer drags off Cal Trask (James Dean) after the latter’s confrontation with his mother, brothel madam Kate (Jo Van Fleet).

In his earlier scene with Dean, Timothy’s delivery was apparently not to Kazan’s liking. He had Tim’s voice dubbed over by another actor, reportedly Albert Dekker (who also appears in the film). However, you can hear snatches of Tim’s real voice in this scene as he drags Dean out into the hall and starts slugging him.

Pic of the Day: “East of Eden” (1955) revisited

Posted by Marisa on November 8, 2012

Good morning! Our pic of the day is of a sleepy Joe the bouncer from Elia Kazan‘s East of Eden (1955). He’s been summoned by his boss Kate (Jo Van Fleet) to go get rid of that pesky young man outside (James Dean).

This is pretty much how I feel right now. Looks like Joe and I both need more coffee.

Video of the Week: Behind the scenes of “East of Eden” (1955)

Posted by Marisa on August 15, 2012

Our video for this week is another rare collection of behind-the-scenes footage shot during the making of East of Eden (1955) in Mendocino, California in the spring of 1954. It can be found in the bonus material of the DVD release of James Dean: Born Cool (2001). Timothy just might be lurking unseen (or barely seen) in the background of some of this footage, but a very good glimpse of him starts at about 6:34 in – in case you couldn’t tell, he’s that tall drink of water dressed all in black, talking with a couple of fellows and chewing gum vehemently.