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) Kazan and the "down-to-earth" performances of James Dean and Richard Davalos. Bosley Crowther, writing for "The New York Times", described the film as having "energy and intensity but little clarity and emotion"; he notes: Bosley Crowther called Dean's performance a "mass of histrionic gingerbread" which clearly emulated the style of Marlon Brando. Fifty years later, film critic Kenneth Turan of the "Los Angeles Times", was much more positive, saying "East of Eden" is "not only one of Kazan's richest films and Dean's first significant role, it is also arguably the actor's best performance." The film's depiction of the interaction between