James Dean is considered one of the most influential actors of an entire generation. Much like contemporaries Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, Dean's brooding and sensitive vulnerability redefined how male actors performed onscreen during the mid-1950s.
Dean only starred in three feature films, all of which have gone on to become cinematic classics. They include East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant, the latter being released posthumously following Dean's tragic death at the age of 24. Despite the limited amount of work, the impact Dean had on the filmmaking landscape cannot be overstated. For more, here are James Dean's 10 Best Movie & TV roles, According to IMDB.
The Evil Within (1953) 7.2/10
In the short-lived mystery-horror TV series Tales of Tomorrow, Dean starred in the 37th episode of Season 2. In the story entitled The Evil Within, a scientist named Peter (Rod Steiger) concocts the perfect formula to release the inner-beast in human beings.
When Peter's wife Anne (Margaret Phillips) inadvertently imbibes a dose of the formula, he must race home in the nick of time and prevent her from morphing into a feral monster. The Jekyll and Hide ripoff features Dean as Peter's bespectacled medical assistant.
Harvest (1953) 7.4/10
Dean starred in Harvest, the fifth season and 13th episode of the TV program Robert Montgomery Presents. In the episode, Dean plays a star-crossed lover pining over a sophisticated older woman during Thanksgiving.
Dean plays Paul Zalinka, a young man whose summer fling with elegant city girl Arlene (Rebecca Welles) has come to an end. As Paul visits his family farm for the holiday and to celebrate his Gramps' (Vaughn Taylor) 100th birthday, he grapples with his desire to marry Arlene. However, the guilt of abandoning his family business weighs heavily on his conscience.
Sentence Of Death (1953) 7.4/10
The decade-long program Studio One in Hollywood was comprised of stage plays performed live on television. In the 46th episode of Season 5, Dean captured hearts and minds as Joe Palica in the teleplay entitled Sentence of Death.
Betsy Palmer stars as Ellen Morrison, a glamorous Hollywood starlet who witnesses a murder of a drugstore owner. When the police arrest a young man named Joe (Dean), Ellen claims they've arrested the wrong man. Joe is convicted anyway and given a jail sentence, prompting Ellen to locate the real culprit before it's too late.
Giant (1956) 7.6/10
The final feature film Dean appeared in was Giant, George Steven's epic drama about a family of Texas cattle farmers and their rival with a neighboring family.
Dean earned an Oscar nomination for his role as Jett Rink in the film, a wayward young handyman who later strikes oil on his property and becomes a petroleum magnate. Jett ends up vying for the affections of married socialite Leslie Benedict (Elizabeth Taylor), leading to a major rift with her husband Bick (Rock Hudson).
The Dark, Dark Hours (1954) 7.7/10
Dean shared the screen with future U.S President Ronald Reagan in the episode of General Electric Theater entitled The Dark, Dark Hours in 1954.
Directed by Don Medford, the 12th episode of Season 3 concerns Bud (Dean), a young street gangster who intimidates Doctor Joe (Reagan) and his wife Betty (Constance Ford) to remove a bullet from the hand of his pal Pewee (Jack Simmons). When Joe motions to call the police, Bud pulls a gun on him and forces him to operate along with the squeamish Betty.
Rebel Without A Cause (1955) 7.7/10
Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause is almost certainly the most iconic role of Dean's short-lived career. His depiction of an angst-ridden teenager who's both tough and vulnerable at once all but recalibrated how screen-acting was conceived at the time.
Directed by Nicholas Ray, the film follows Jim, a rebellious and independent-minded teenager who has trouble making friends at his new high-school. While antagonizing bullies, Jim ultimately befriends Plato (Sal Mineo) and harbors a crush on Judy (Natalie Wood).
East Of Eden (1955) 7.9/10
Dean earned the first Oscar nomination of his career for his first starring role in East of Eden, Elia Kazan's faithful adaptation of the classic John Steinbeck novel.
Dean stars as Cal Trask in the film, a sensitive young man who wants nothing more than to please his father. However, his father Adam (Raymond Massey) favors his more successful older son Aaron (Richard Davalos), who is a spitting image of himself. The story is a loose adaptation of the Biblical Adam and Eve parable.
The Capture Of Jesse James (1953) 8.0/10
In the second episode of the long-running true-crime series You Were There, Dean played Bob Ford, the infamous assailant who murdered notorious wild west outlaw Jesse James.
Directed by Sidney Lumet, The Capture of Jesse James takes place on April 3, 1882. Walter Kronkite hosted the episode, whole John Kerr played Jesse James in the half-hour drama. Only two actors appear in the episode, with the conflict revolving around Ford's willingness to kill a member of his own gang.
Forgotten Children (1952) 8.1/10
In one of his rare comedic titles, Dean appeared in the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Forgotten Children, the 25th of 39 total episodes in the series.
The show takes a humorous look at Martha Berry (Cloris Leachman), a schoolmarm dedicated to instructing uneducated children in Georgia following the Civil War. Dean plays Bradford, Berry's lover, and potential husband. The main conflict of the show centers on the father of two students who forbid them from learning more than he knows. Berry disregards the man and builds her own school anyway.
The Unlighted Road (1955) 8.5/10
Dean takes center stage in the Schlitz Playhouse presentation of The Unlighted Road, an episode that aired during the height of the actor's popularity in May 1955.
Dean plays Jeff Latham, an uneasy young Korean War vet from Wisconsin who finds employment after stopping at a roadside eatery. Once there, Jeff also strikes a fleeting romance with Ann Hardy (Patricia Burnett). With everything looking up in his life, Jeff is thrown for a loop when becoming an unwitting accomplice to a band of criminals operating from inside the diner. Jeff finds himself delivering illegal cargo down a dark road, which leads to further trouble when he accidentally runs a policeman off the street.