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
East of Eden (film) Dean and Massey was characterized by Turan as "the paradigmatic generational conflict in all of American film." Wins Nominations East of Eden (film) East of Eden is a 1955 film, directed by Elia Kazan, and loosely based on the second half of the 1952 novel of the same name by John Steinbeck. It is about a wayward young man who, while seeking his own identity, vies for the affection of his deeply religious father against his favored brother, thus retelling the story of Cain and Abel. The film stars Julie Harris, James Dean (in his first major screen role), and