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

Posted by Marisa on September 30, 2015

Sixty years ago today, James Dean lost his life in a dreadful automobile accident. Our video this week celebrates that short but incandescent life. Culled from the archives, it’s a 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.

Today is also the perfect day to revisit Timothy’s reminiscences about his friendship with Dean during the making of the film. I often consider how much better off we all would be if both of these men were still with us.

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

Posted by Marisa on February 9, 2015

Eighty-four years ago yesterday, James Byron Dean was born in Marion, Indiana. The blue-eyed heart-breaker from the heartland scored his first starring role in Elia Kazan‘s East of Eden (1955), based on the epic novel by John Steinbeck. Timothy and Dean hit it off during shooting, and together they shook up the little seaside town of Mendocino, California.

Tim told the story of his friendship with Dean in an article for Movie Stars Parade magazine in 1957. This September we will observe the sixtieth anniversary of Dean’s death. We can only imagine the elder statesmen of cinema these two would be now, if we had not been deprived of their presence far too soon.

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on August 17, 2014

“I took Dean and that guy who played the bouncer (Timothy Carey) fishing on the rocks above Portuguese Beach, and Glenn Walbridge took them up Big River to fish off the old logging boom. I don’t remember if we caught anything but we probably did.” – Bob Valador

– from James Dean in Mendocino: The Filming of East of Eden; compiled and edited by Bruce Levene (Pacific Transcriptions, 1994)

Portuguese Beach, Mendocino, CA (photo via destinationmendocino.com)

“C’mon Jimmy, quit acting crazy and let’s go fishing.”

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on September 1, 2013

I told him [James Dean] where I lived in L.A. (by choice in the real skid row area) and how I spent so much time at the 5-4 Ballroom, dancing, doing snake hips and really going with that tribal beat.

“You have to go there some time with me,” I said. “It’s a gasser. They have real rhythm and blues music there.”

“It sounds crazy,” he replied. “We’ll do that. We really will. You know, it’s the same way in Greenwich Village. You can let yourself go there. You can have a ball.”

The conversation gave us a good, friendly feeling, and we knew we dug each other. I told him how I’d been kicked off all those pictures, and how I’d made a lot of big shot actors nervous, and he just laughed.

As he drove off, he looked around and shook his head.

“What a hick town,” he drawled. “I’m going to play it cool. See you soon, Tim.”

– Timothy Carey, “The Highways of Heaven,” Movie Stars Parade magazine, September 1957 (as told to Bill Tusher)

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.

Look how tall he is!! Also seen here are James Dean, Elia Kazan, Julie Harris, Jo Van Fleet and Bette Treadville. For more on this subject, please revisit this post and this post too.

James Dean in Mendocino

Posted by Marisa on February 17, 2012

I recently got this nifty little book on eBay, James Dean in Mendocino: The Filming of East of Eden, compiled and edited by Mendocino historian Bruce Levene. It documents the time spent by director Elia Kazan, Dean, and the other cast and crew members shooting key scenes for the film in Mendocino, California (standing in for Salinas and Monterey) during the spring of 1954.

It was a big event for the little town, and the local newspapers gave it plenty of coverage. However, the papers never seemed to get Timothy’s name right.

There are lots of great candid behind-the-scenes shots in the book, including this one (the only one featuring Tim) that I’m sure we’re all familiar with.

Several locals had some unique remembrances to share.

All in all, this is a wonderful slice of film and California history, and a welcome addition to “the Carey file.” For Timothy’s own account of his and Dean’s adventures in Mendocino, please see this post.