I watched East of Eden last night and wasn’t thrilled. I hate James Dean. I watched Rebel Without a Cause recently and wasn’t thrilled with that one either. Anyway, here’s an excerpt from Bosley Crowther’s movie review of East of Eden, written in 1955:

“This young actor [James Dean], who is here doing his first big screen stint, is a mass of histrionic gingerbread. He scuffs his feet, he whirls, he pouts, he sputters, he leans against walls, he rolls his eyes, he swallows his words, he ambles slack-kneed-all like Marlon Brando used to do. Never have we seen a performer so clearly follow another’s style. Mr. Kazan should be spanked for permitting him to do such a sophomoric thing. Whatever there might be of reasonable torment in this youngster is buried beneath the clumsy display.”

Bingo and amen.