James Dean: The First American Teenager

This was the first I'd ever heard of James Dean, when I saw it in the 70's as a teenager. The fifties were not popular with kids at the time. It came out pre "Happy Days". That is why, I believe, the 70's music was used. It's an attempt to draw kids into the James Dean Myth, and the fifties in general. At the time, I loved the music and still remember a part were the song "James Dean" by The Eagles was playing as Dean walks around a race track. It's my first memory of Dean. There wasn't much about Dean available at the time. No VHS, DVD, books or youtube. This made him seem much more mysterious and iconic then he seems to me now. Wish I could see it again, though I'm sure the music would seem dated and it wouldn't have the same impact, with all the Dean material available today.

I taped this film off of a PBS affiliate in Upstate New York in 1991 and have kept the movie for all these years. This film looked rather low-budget (for a film that was 16 years of age in 1991, the color was clearly faded and the quality of the film used seemed to have degraded), but was pretty effectual in showing Dean's life. The interviews with those who worked with Dean are interesting and the music used in the film (mostly 1970s rock) adds a nice element to the movie. I would have liked to have seen interviews with people who may have known Dean in Fairmount, Indiana (whether it be relatives or others who knew him). Most of the people interviewed in this film were involved with Dean in his acting days. However, overall this is not a bad film.

James Dean: The First American Teenager (1975)

*** (out of 4)

Dennis Hopper, Maila Nurmi, Carroll Baker, Natalie Wood, Sammy Davis, Jr., Sal Mineo, Jack Larson and Corey Allen are just a few of the people who are interviewed here. This made-for-television documentary takes a look at the quick life of James Dean and the three main films that he made.

For the most part this here is a pretty good documentary on the actor. It's clear that he was a troubled person and several members of those interviewed discuss how even he seems to have been confused by himself. The greatest thing about this documentary is the fact that we get first-hand accounts from people who knew him, dated him and worked with him. THese types of stories are wonderful to hear and especially since a lot of the people are no longer with us.

I would say that the weakest part of this was the fact that there were so many film and television clips. I'm sure in 1975 some of this footage was hard to see but today when all of it is easily available it's rather boring sitting through it here. I'd also argue that using current rock music didn't really help matters. With that said, anyone with interest of Dean should certainly check this out for the interviews.

This documentary is essential for any fan of James Dean. I agree that the quality is low budget and it would have been nice to have had some interviews with people who knew him in Fairmount. However, at least one other documentary (and some of the books written about Dean) has interviewed those who knew him growing up and they really don't have a heckuva lot to contribute (at least as far as they're willing to reveal).

What is essential about The First American Teenager is that it's the only documentary that interviews Sal Mineo (who is sipping a can of beer), Natalie Wood, and Nicholas Ray (director of Rebel Without a Cause). As such, this documentary has unique footage. Some of these same interviews have been excerpted in later Dean documentaries.

I have to disagree that using '70s rock music is a nice touch, and I say this as someone who happens to enjoy the music in question. My gripe is that this is the only Dean documentary that I'm aware of that so obviously tried to generate audience interest in Dean by pandering to contemporary tastes. This goes against the grain of what has kept Dean relevant to every generation since his death: the timelessness of his impact, various personas, and universal message (he remains as great an icon in Japan, for instance, as anywhere else).

Watching this documentary today is to realize how badly this music dates it. Playing Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend" is fair enough but the use of Bowie's "Rebel, Rebel" and Bad Company's "Movin' On" are anachronistic distractions that appear to have done nothing to popularize this rather obscure documentary. It's not even available on DVD, as contrasted with the numerous other Dean documentaries that are, including the one by PBS' American Masters series, none of which felt compelled to apologize for the fact that Dean lived and died during the Fifties which, by the way, is when rock 'n' roll came of age.