East of Eden (film) Although set in early 20th century Monterey, California, much of the film was actually shot on location in Mendocino, California. Some scenes were filmed in the Salinas Valley. Of the three films in which James Dean played the male lead, this is the only one to have been released during his lifetime and the only one Dean personally viewed in its entirety. The film, along with "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Giant", has been named by the American Film Institute as one of the best 400 American films of all time. In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in
Rebel Without a Cause a goddamn juvenile delinquent! "Now" do I get the part?!" Dawson High School, the school in the film, was actually Santa Monica High School, located in Santa Monica, California. Exterior scenes at the abandoned mansion to which the characters retreat were filmed at the William O. Jenkins House, previously used in the film "Sunset Boulevard" (1950). It was demolished just two years after filming. Irving Shulman, who adapted Nicholas Ray's initial film story into the screenplay, had considered changing the name of James Dean's character to Herman Deville, according to Jurgen Muller's "Movies of the '50s". He had also originally