East of Eden

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This moobie was loosely based on the 1952 John Steinbeck novel of the same name. The only James Dean film released before his death, East of Eden is not only his best work but the piece that truly set the mold for his legacy. Dean plays Cal, the dark and brooding brother to Aron - the golden boy in their father's eye. A classic retelling of The Bible's Cain and Abel, watching Dean try to maintain a respectable relationship with his brother's girl, hopelessly try to win his father's approval and try to uncover the mysterious truth about their mother will keep you in your seat until the final tragic disaccord.
It was shot beautifully in Mendocino, CA filling in for WWI era Salinas and Monterey (to this day Mendocino looks virtually unchanged), and went on to win the Golden Globe for Best Picture. East of Eden was released in March of 1955, just 6 months before Dean's death. The following January he was given the first posthumous Best Actor Oscar nomination in award history. It was really his only shot. Unfortunately it went to Ernest Borgnine playing against type in Marty. A good performance to be sure, a far cry from Sgt. Fatso in From Here to Eternity, but do we remember it 50 years later? The answer is not really. But we sure remember James Dean on top of that train, behind that ice and and caught in that desperate struggle to find the good in himself, trying for nothing more than to be be loved.