United States

James Byron Dean starred in three Hollywood classics. This is the second... James Dean Hollywood's ultimate rebel - is Jim Stark, a blisteringly accurate portrayal of troubled youth, both in America's '50s and now. Jim is aimless, rootless, discontent with the world built by Adults. He fights his bumbling parents ('If only he had the guts to knock Mom cold once!') and the switchblade violence of high school. He creates his own world with Judy and Plato. Judy's guy, Buzz, responds by challenging Jim to a motor-duel. The Chicken Run. They drive stolen cars at high speed towards a precipice. First to jump out is chicken. Jim jumps. Buzz dies. Jim's a hero for Judy and Plato, an enemy for Buzz's vicious gang... and the L.A. cops are looking for all of them. Released one month after Dean's fatal car-crash, this is the movie (still) making him more than a cult - an unforgettable screen presence. Nicholas Ray directed his own story and won an Oscar nomination, like Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo. But is was Jimmy Dean searing an entire generation, recognising themselves on screen for the first time as... Deanagers. Also available in the James Dean Collection: "Giant" and "East Of Eden"