Both were a bit old for their parts but Dean's boyish manner allowed him to sell the character and Harris (who had convincingly played a twelve year old just a few years earlier in "Member of the Wedding") looks the proper age in every scene except one (an outdoor scene shot in the bright sun). It is a real actors/director's film, with just six significant characters and with especially good performances from Dean and from Julie Harris. Originally I ranked it a distant third in the James Dean film pecking order but over the years it has somehow passed "Giant" and "Rebel Without a Cause" IMHO, and I now find it to be clearly his best and more enduring work. It was Elia Kazan's troubled relationship with his own father that first attracted him to Steinbeck's novel and caused him to focus the film on the portion of the story that addressed this issue. Which is why the film was so timely and contemporary when it was released. Although set at the start of World War I, the generational issues portrayed really had came to a head by the mid-1950's. And it is easy to understand the tears that are often shed by both first-time and repeat viewers.
Since the majority of viewers meet these criteria it is easy to see why the film finds a new audience with each generation. If you have ever come out on the short end of a sibling rivalry and/or felt seriously wronged by a parent(s), you will probably connect nicely with "East of Eden" (1955).
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