the roaring fifties

"He is not our hero because he was perfect, but because he perfectly represented the damaged but beautiful soul of our time" *** "The only greatness for man is immortality." -James Byron Dean (1931- )

[pierppasolini]

James Dean photographed by Floyd McCarty, on the set of Rebel Without a Cause

[bitter69uk]

“We cannot speak of cinema without mentioning the name of James Dean, the freshly plucked fleur du mal, James Dean, who is cinema, in the same sense as Lillian Gish, Chaplin, Ingrid Bergman, etc.” Francois Truffaut, 1956.

Died on this day seventy years ago: cinema’s bongo drum-playin’, Method actin’ quintessential doomed 1950s bad boy, James Byron Dean (8 February 1931 - 30 September 1955) – one of the most lusciously photogenic and haunting actors of all time.

[dialnfornoir]

Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)

[sparklejamesysparkle]

“When I first encountered Jimmy on the set of Giant in Texas, he deliberately kept his distance from me. I represented everything he hated about Hollywood: a pampered MGM girl who wore gowns and jewels and seemed to have the perfect movie star life. While making the movie, everyone working on the film would eat lunch and dinner together, the cast and crew all gathered together under a big tent. But Jimmy would always eat alone, eyeing me suspiciously while I sat at another table. I wanted to be his friend, so his behavior bothered me. One night I summoned up my courage and walked over to his table. ‘You don’t like me, do you?’, I asked him directly. He was silent for a few moments…and then he started to giggle. “I like that”, he mumbled, glancing up at me with a smile. And then I realized he was just as nervous and scared as I was, and all he wanted was someone to reach out and cut through the bullshit and be kind. We were fast friends and practically inseparable after that.” Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean have lunch together on the set of Giant in Marfa, Texas. Photo by Frank Worth, 1955.

[jamesdeaner]

He’s kind of a genius, Jett is. He’s got a grudge against the world. He’ll probably end up a billionaire - or in the electric chair.

[babeimgonnaleaveu]

“Am I in love? Absolutely. I’m in love with ancient philosophers, foreign painters, classic authors, and musicians who have died long ago. I’m a passionate lover. I fawn over these people. I have given them my heart and my soul. The trouble is, I’m unable to love anyone tangible. I have sacrificed a physical bond, for a metaphysical relationship. I am the ultimate idealistic lover.” – James Dean  

[terrysmalloy]

Marlon Brando in ’The Wild One’, 1953.

You think you’re too good for me. Nobody’s too good for me! Anybody thinks they’re too good for me, I make sure I knock ‘em over sometime. Right now, I could slap you around to show you how good you are and tomorrow, I’m someplace else and I don’t even know you or nothing.

[quotemadness]

I put on an act sometimes, and people think I’m insensitive. Really, it’s like a kind of armour because I’m too sensitive.

Marlon Brando (via quotemadness)

[wexler]

[pierppasolini]

I’m trying to find the courage to be tender in my life. I know that violent people are weak people. Only the gentle are ever really strong.

James Dean 

[caddy-smelled-like-trees-deacti]

Jimmy at his aunt and uncle’s farm in Fairmount, Indiana (February 1955)

[jamesdeaner]

[babeimgonnaleaveu]

James Dean in his apartment on West 68th Street, New York City, 1955.

[hoechlin]

Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

[perfectlymarilynmonroe]

Marilyn photographed by Milton Greene, 1953.

[wehadfacesthen]

Eartha Kitt and James Dean in dance class, New York City, 1954

[babeimgonnaleaveu]

“We had an extraordinary friendship. We would sometimes sit up until three in the morning, and he would tell me about his past, his mother, minister, his loves, and the next day he would just look straight through me as if he’d given away or revealed too much of himself. It would take, after one of these sessions, maybe a couple of days before we’d be back on friendship terms. He was very afraid to give of himself.” – Elizabeth Taylor

[jamesdeantributo]

[hepburnandhepburn]

Gracias, merci [x]