The James Dean Collector’s Classic is one of those documentaries you find in the bargain bin at Dollar General for a buck. It covers everything about James Dean’s career, life, and tragic death. It’s not great or anything, but I think I got my dollar’s worth out of it.
It starts with his death and then works its way back to the beginning. Dean leaves his home in the Midwest to come to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. He then moves to New York where he joins the prestigious Actors Studio. His talent is immediately evident, and it isn’t long before he becomes a movie star and legendary idol. Sadly, he dies in a car accident and in the process becomes immortalized for his handful of film roles.
The James Dean Collector’s Classic doesn’t really cover any new territory. If you’re already familiar with Dean’s story, most of this will be an old hat. The biography stuff isn’t bad, but the film is less successful when it’s relying on footage from his early roles in bit parts on TV shows (including Dean playing John the Baptist in a religious movie). In fact, the whole thing grinds to a halt when they play an episode of Schlitz Playhouse starring Dean in its entirety. I did think it was funny that they couldn’t afford to use footage from East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, or Giant but somehow Don Mclean’s “American Pie” is heard more than once. (We do get to see his screen test for East of Eden and behind the scenes footage from Rebel Without a Cause though.)
There is a good cross section of interviewees, which helps make up for some of the documentary’s chintzier moments. Carroll Baker, Dennis Hopper, Vampira (who hints at his bisexuality), Sammy Davis Jr., Nicholas Ray, and Natalie Wood all give revealing insight into the Dean they knew. There are also some eerie moments like photos of Dean sleeping in a coffin and a PSA with him dressed as his character from Giant warning people about speeding on the highway. These moments don’t exactly save the flick, but they do prevent it from being a run of the mill doc.
AKA: The James Dean Classic.
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