What did James Dean ever do that Montgomery Clift hadn't done before him?

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What did James Dean ever do that Montgomery Clift hadn't done before him?

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Penis


ETA:


Wait, that's backwards.

Cliff was the known bisexual. Dean only got raped by priests as a child.

Humphrey Bogart: "Dean died at just the right time. He left behind a legend. If he had lived, he'd never have been able to live up to the hype."

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What are some older movie recommendations please?

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For Montgomery Cliff:
A Place in the Sun, co-staring Elizabeth Taylor
Wild River, co-staring Lee Remick, directed by Elia Kazan

For James Dean:
Rebel Without a Cause, co-staring Natalie Wood
Giant, co-staring Elizabeth Taylor

James Dean was rumored to have spent time on the casting couch along with Robert Wagner - hell, in an unauthorized bio of Dean he had an affair with the son of some Hollywood producer.

Out of all of those, Giant is the only one that interested me.

I'm not a big fan of either actor.

At least Sal Mineo was in Escape from the Planet of the Apes.

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Giant is a great film.

Taylor was 24 at the time of playing a middle-aged mother, only 4 years older IRL than her son Dennis Hopper and younger than James Dean.

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The makeup they used to age them doesn't hold up but it's a great story with interesting performances.

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Giant is a great film

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I find it very boring when Dean is off screen

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Taylor was 24 at the time of playing a middle-aged mother, only 4 years older IRL than her son Dennis Hopper and younger than James Dean

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Her "daughter" Carroll Baker was a year older than her (same age as Dean)

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Seems Dean's style was modeled after Clift's. Clift was a much better actor IMO.

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Personally I find Dean more interesting on screen. Clift is rather limited once he has to go past his wide-eyed helpless and sensitive bit. Dean could do that as well as other stuff -- Dennis Hopper described him as combining the "frick You" of Brando with the "Help Me" of Clift.

Dean wasn't perfect -- some of his scenes in Rebel Without A Cause are awkward, but remember he was only 24 when he died. He showed a lot of potential, and had actually done some accomplished work.

Dean's best scene is probably the birthday party in LINK ]East of Eden. Note that the script called for Dean to simply give the money to his father and walk out. Everything else -- the crying, the hugging, the stiffly pained walk out -- was improvised by Dean.

Dean also improvised in Giant. For example in this scene he was just supposed to walk along his new property, but he was pissed off with director George Stevens about something (they didn't get along) so he walked very stiffly, making a big deal out of hitting his marks. It adds a fascinating visual element to the scene.

LINK

And at the end, Dean decided to climb the windmill, which was not in the script. But it was so good Stevens left it in, and later added a CU of Dean at the top to match it.