Trivia / East of Eden

• Ability over Appearance: Julie Harris was nearly a decade too old to play Abra, and Jack L. Warner protested against her casting for this reason. That being said, she still turns in a genuine and heartfelt performance - with very believable chemistry between her and James Dean.
• Actor-Inspired Heroism: Due to a combination of Kate's worse deeds being cut out (the film only adapts the last third of the book) and Jo Van Fleet's performance, Kate seems like a far more sympathetic, tragic figure in contrast to the "born without a conscience" villain she was in the book. It's strongly hinted that she regrets leaving her two sons, and she shares a couple of nice moments with Cal.
• Creator's Favorite: Despite the annoyances and difficulties he faced making this film, Raymond Massey called the role of Adam Trask one of the best parts he ever had on screen and one of the few three-dimensional characters he played in movies.
• Creator-Preferred Adaptation: John Steinbeck approved of the film, including the decision to only focus on the last third of the story.
• Darkhorse Casting: James Dean's career was limited to television and extra work prior to this.
• Dawson Casting: Julie Harris was nearly thirty when she played the teenage Abra. James Dean and Richard Davalos were also in their early twenties.
• Dyeing for Your Art: James Dean gained weight by drinking a pint of cream every day, had his hair cut and was "sent off to Palm Springs" to get a tan so he'd look like a real farm boy.
• Enforced Method Acting:
  • For the scene when a drunken Cal visits Abra at night, Elia Kazan actually had James Dean (having a low alcohol tolerance) buzzed on some chianti.
  • Raymond Massey came to despise James Dean on set, according to Elia Kazan's autobiography. He did nothing to dispel it, resulting in a natural tension between Cal and Adam on-screen. This was partly intentional by James Dean, who would provoke Raymond Massey off-camera. Ironically the man himself would later call Adam Trask one of the best parts he ever played on film.
  • Richard Davalos and James Dean shared an apartment for a brief period, which helped them properly bond and develop a believable brotherly friendship. Richard later said when they were together, he got so into character, it took him two years to properly shake it off.
  • The reason Cal looks so uncomfortable during the Ferris Wheel scene? James Dean decided he wouldn't pee until the scene was finished.
  • Raymond Massey wasn't giving the right reaction Eliza Kazan wanted in the scene where Cal reads from the Bible passages. So he took James Dean aside and told him to read the Old Testament passes interspersed with all sorts of profanity. The very religious Massey was furious.
  • An accidental example during the fight between Cal and Aron. James Dean didn't really hit Richard Davalos but the emotion coming out of him felt so realistic. The resulting clip is Richard believing James really did hate him, and he had to leave the set when the take was finished - crying for "about four hours" until Julie Harris calmed him down.
• Hostility on the Set:
  • Raymond Massey was an old school actor who really didn't care for Method Acting and disliked James Dean immensely. According to Tom Steinbeck, Massey looked down his nose at everyone: "Anyone he hadn't done rep with wasn't worth working with."
  • Timothy Carey, who had a small part as Joe the bouncer, drove Elia Kazan to such distraction with his bizarre behavior that Kazan, a longtime avowed pacifist, physically attacked him, the only time he had ever done such a thing.
• Life Imitates Art: Julie Harris reportedly was The Heart to James Dean on set, just like Abra is for Cal in the film.
• Reality Subtext: Elia Kazan met James Dean and accompanied him to visit his estranged father. He described seeing how badly the father treated his son, and how desperately James seemed to want to please him. He eventually called it the most apt bit of casting he ever did.
• Star-Making Role: For James Dean. It was getting considerable buzz before it was even released, and the man himself was aware of it. Elia Kazan was forced to Break the Haughty more than once.
• Throw It In!:
  • Cal was supposed to deck Adam after he rejects his present. When shooting, James Dean had the impulse to instead hug Raymond Massey. This became a moment of Enforced Method Acting for Massey who, unpracticed in improvisation, came across exactly as stiff and uncomfortable as Adam ought to be under the circumstances.
  • Dean also improvised the dance through the bean field.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Elia Kazan actually considered Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift as Cal and Aaron, before deciding that they were too old (Brando was 30, Clift was 35). Anthony Perkins auditioned for the part.
  • Paul Newman auditioned for Aaron opposite James Dean.
  • The scene where Cal climbs up to Abra's bedroom window would have had him going in first while she was sleeping and fondling one of her slippers. It was cut to avoid making Cal seem too creepy.
  • A big conversation scene between Cal and Aron was cut from the first act. Had it been left, Aron's character would be put in a whole new light. Aron advises Cal to do something to win their father's love, implying that he's only become Adam's preferred son by flattering him and being easy to live with.

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