SPEED, CURSE, OR CIRCUMSTANCE
Are We Ready for Another James Dean Movie?
James Dean wasn’t just a “Rebel Without a Cause” he was a tortured young man with a “need for speed.”
He was only 24 years old when he died in a tragic crash in his new convertible Porche 550 Spyder on 30 September 1955.
Nearly 65 years later, he is cast in a new film scheduled for release in November 2020.
Some say that Dean was going 85 mph at the time of the accident. Witnesses, however, including his mechanic and passenger, Rolf Wütherich, whose injuries were non-fatal, denied Dean was speeding. He stated that Donald Turnupseed, who was driving a Ford sedan, turned left from 46 onto 41 right in front of them, and they had no time to stop.
Turnupseed had only minor injuries. Law enforcement determined that due to the light color of the Porche and the setting sun, it was likely Turnupseed never saw the Porche (more on his death inquest later). However, the setting sun would have been behind Turnupseed since he was coming from the west.
Speed & Timing
Whether Dean was speeding at the time of the accident is debatable, though few would seek to prosecute the character of the dead young legend. However, Dean received a speeding ticket at 3:30 pm of the same day in Bakersfield, CA, eighty-four miles from the accident site at 5:45 pm.
Wütherich, in his statement to law enforcement, noted that they had stopped at a diner along the way and to fill up. Depending on how long that stop was, and how long they took to fuel up at their last stop at Blackwell’s Corner, they made very good time getting to the fatal intersection of 41 and 46 in Chalome, CA in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County from Bakersfield in Kern County, about 84 miles away.
There is a memorial located at the intersection of 41 and 46. That stretch of road is now known as the James Dean Memorial Highway. Highway 46 was then 466 at the time of the accident. Blackwell’s Corner, his last stop, also has a head and shoulders memorial of Dean.
According to Weird California, “Inside the general store is a fifties diner, a variety of James Dean art, and lots of fifties memorabilia and pictures available for sale…” The Weird California website has various stories about Dean and his memorial.
In a bizarre twist of fate, Dean made a highway safety promotional commercial, where at the end, he cautioned viewers, “Take it easy driving. The life you might save might be mine.”
James Dean himself originally commissioned Kenneth Kendall to do this bust because he liked the one Kendall did of Brando. It is now part of the monument at Griffith Observatory, and another is in his hometown, Fairmount, Indiana.
If this photographer had widened the view, you would see the HollywoodLand sign in the background, as you can see below.
In case you’re wondering, it said HollywoodLand back then because it was a real estate advertisement.
The “Little Bastard”
Some rumors attest that the car Dean nicknamed the “Little Bastard” was “cursed” or “possessed”. Many, now, say Christine might have been a better title, though that work of fiction had not yet been written.
The TalkStephenKingBlog writer says King may have gotten the idea for Christine from the stories about Dean’s car. However, he also states at the end of his rambling on the subject:
“I cannot find any comments by King about Christine and any influence James Dean’s car or the movie Rebel Without A Cause might have played in the formation of the novel itself.”
Although these events are likely coincidental, several rumors circulated post-accident about the Little Bastard. Two doctors bought parts of the car for their race cars, both had accidents the first race they appeared in and one died.
The tow-truck driver suffered two broken legs when the car rolled over him after hauling it from the site of the crash. There are many other stories, which you can read about on the History.com James Dean biography page and the Weird California website.
I think I would trust the History stories more so than the “inflated” stories on Weird, though the Snopes fact-checker does give credence to some of the claims.
Actor Alec Guinness is supposed to have told Dean on 23 September, when he showed him the Little Bastard, “If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week.” Seven days later…
James Dean Movies
James Dean starred in his first movie in 1951. It was an uncredited film starring Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, Fix Bayonets, and another in ’52 starring the same pair, Sailor Beware.
He did a few parts in play on Broadway in New York, where he studied under Lee Strasburg. His roles in See the Jaguar and The Immoralist caught the attention of Hollywood.
East of Eden
His portrayal of Cal Trask in East of Eden in his first major motion picture, and only motion picture that the actor saw before his death earned him a posthumous Academy Award nomination. He also received a nomination for Rebel Without a Cause. John Steinbeck was the author of the 1952 book, East of Eden.
Steinbeck spent many of his writing years in what is now known as Central Valley, California. His haunting tale about the Oklahoma “Dustbowl” farmers’ movement or Dustbowl Camp. This home to many migrant farm laborers is in the California Register of Historical Resources, as well as the National Register of Historic Buildings.
Steinbeck recommended Dean to Alia Kazan, the movie’s director and producer, for the part of Cal. After meeting Dean, he said he found him “moody” and “complex”, which probably made him perfect for the role.
The majority of the film is set in Salinas, CA, and often gets compared to a Cain and Abel bible story.
Rebel Without a Cause
Dean is probably more widely recognized for his role in Rebel than he is for East of Eden or Giant. Cast as Jim Stark; Dean portrayed a rebellious teenager. The film was either banned, cut, or censored in many countries.
All three leading actors and actress met a violent end. Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo were probably murdered, though Miss Wood supposedly drown. Sal Mineo’s killer allegedly laughed about the murder in prison.
In the UK, the knife fight scene got cut, and the movie was given an “X” rating. New Zealand, fearing it would cause “teenage delinquency” cut scenes, and gave it an “R16” rating.
Rebel Without a Cause is the only film in which Dean was the lead. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry, saying it was “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant”.
Rebel Without a Cause trailer:
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Giant
Giant was Dean’s last film. He portrayed a rich, older Texas rancher. Young James feared being type-cast as a rebellious teenager by continuing in those roles. Dean even dyed some of his gray and shaved it look as if he had a receding hairline.
Giant was a classic with Rock Hudson (there were rumors that Dean had a bisexual relationship with Rock) and Elizabeth Taylor, one of Rock’s best friends starring. Giant received nine nominations at the 1957 Academy Awards, including Best Actor Award for both Hudson and Dean.
Giant Trailer:
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An inquest into the death of Dean found Turnupseed not guilty of any wrongdoing in the death of James Dean due to his speed. However, the retired CHP officer at the scene that day said the “wreckage and the position of Dean’s body indicated his speed at the time of the accident was more like 55 mph”.
Finding Jack?
By the way, later this Veteran’s Day (11 November 2020), you’ll be able to see James Dean recreated in Finding Jack. Some are saying this computer regeneration of Dean will be a bit like the 23-year-old Will Smith in Gemini Man.
Only time will tell how well this will work, but perhaps many fans are looking forward to seeing Dean in another film, even 65 years or more after his death.
References:
The weirdca.com web page
The Biography.com web page, James Dean
The History.com web page, James Dean dies in car accident
The James Byron Dean Wikipedia page
The Library of Congress National Film Registry
The Giant film Wikipedia web page
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Stephen Dalton is a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. He is a freelance journalist currently living in the Philippines.
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