''The James Dean Story'' is a 1957

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

documentary. Released two years after

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, the

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

release chronicles his short life and career through black-and-white still photographs, interviews with the aunt and uncle who raised him, his paternal grandparents, a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

cabdriver friend, and the owner of his favorite

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

restaurant, and outtakes from '' East of Eden'', footage of the opening night of ''

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

'', and Dean's

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

for safe driving from ''

Warner Bros. Presents ''Warner Bros. Presents'' is the umbrella title for three series that were telecast as part of the 1955-56 season on ABC: ''Cheyenne'', a new Western series that originated on ''Presents'', and two based on classic Warner Bros motion picture pro ...

''.

Martin Gabel Martin Gabel (June 19, 1911 – May 22, 1986) was an American actor, film director and film producer. Life and career Gabel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Rebecca and Isaac Gabel, a jeweler, both Jewish immigrants. He married Arlen ...

's narration was written by Stewart Stern, who scripted Dean's ''

Rebel Without a Cause ''Rebel Without a Cause'' is a 1955 American coming-of-age drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Filmed in the then recently introduced CinemaScope format and directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social com ...

''. A directing credit was shared by Robert Altman and

George W. George George W. George (born George Warren Goldberg; February 8, 1920 – November 7, 2007) was an American theater, Broadway and film producer. His credits included the film '' My Dinner With Andre'' (1981) and several hit Broadway productions. ...

Soundtrack

The music accompanying ''The James Dean Story'' was composed and conducted by

Leith Stevens Leith Stevens (September 13, 1909 – July 23, 1970) was an American music composer and conductor of radio and film scores. Early life and education Leith Stevens was born in Mount Moriah, Missouri,DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An ...

, and featured Tommy Sands singing the theme song, "Let Me Be Loved". A tie-in album, '' Theme Music from "The James Dean Story"'', released by

World Pacific Records Pacific Jazz Records was a Los Angeles-based record company and label best known for cool jazz or West coast jazz West Coast jazz refers to styles of jazz that developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is o ...

in 1957, featured the jazz trumpeter, Chet Baker, and the flutist and saxophonist,

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

. The film is available on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

References

External links

* 1957 films American black-and-white films Documentary films about actors Films directed by Robert Altman Warner Bros. films Cultural depictions of James Dean {{bio-documentary-film-stub