Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Michael Durr on August 9th, 2009
There are a handful of actors and actresses on this planet who you could say gained more by their death rather than their entire life. One of these actors was James Dean. James Dean was born on February 8th, 1931 in Marion, Indiana. In the next 24 years, he would bridge himself to stardom. But arguably, he wouldn't receive that iconic status until he died on September 30th, 1955 in a horrible car accident in his Porsche 550 Spyder in Cholame, California. The people at Hollywood Select Video decided to release a 2-disc collection of various television pieces he did before his most recognized three films: Rebel Without a Cause, Giant & East of Eden. These pieces give an interesting look at the rise of a legend.
On December 13th, 1950, a Pepsi commercial aired with the curious slogan of “More bounce to the ounce”. It featured a young James Dean at 19 years of age who was hired because he looked like a typical teenager. A few months later he played a role in Hill Number One, a family theater production that played out like a Bible recreation. It recounted events that happened after the death of Jesus. Here James plays the youngest of Christ's Apostles: John.