1955 movie: East of Eden

"East of Eden" was based on a book of the same title by John Steinbeck.
The title is inspired by the story of Cain and Abel; a story of the first murder and of the evil in man’s nature.

“East of Eden” is set in 1917 in the Salinas valley; beautiful farming country.

James Dean stars as Cal, the son of Adam Raymond Massey.
Cal has a split personality. Half the time he is fearless; jumps onto moving trains and rides to another town trying to contact his mother, the madam of a bordello. He ignores the bouncer who looks like he would have no problem smashing Cal’s head.

The other half of the time he seems to have the emotional maturity of an eight year old. Unable to stand still, chin on chest he pouts and stammers. I felt embarrassed for the kid, his emotions were shocking and disturbing for a man that age. Seeing Cal’s misery gives me the impression that much of the book has been left out of the movie.

Cal’s frayed emotions are supposed to be the result of a lifetime of enduring his father’s disapproval. The father openly favors the brother; Aron. Aron, Richard Davalos. Aron is not overly bright or ambitious and I am guessing, has always been easily manipulated by the father. Although clearly more intelligent and capable than Aron, Cal is constantly reprimanded by the father while Aron is showered with praise.. The more Cal tries to win the father’s approval, through inventive ideas and hard work, the more he is reprimanded.

Cal and Aron’s mother is Kate: Jo Van Fleet. The brothers have always believed the father’s story that the mother died when they were born. Apparently they are twins although this is not really clear in the movie. The truth Cal discovers is that the mother abandoned the husband and both sons when they were infants. Cal believes he must remind the father of her and that she, like he, is inherently bad.

Ironically, the father’s ambition was to leave behind something worthwhile. He wanted to be the farmer to bring refrigeration into farm operations. His enduring legacy; his sons, he managed to destroy.