James Dean (1976)

Directed by

Robert Butler

Genre

drama film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 34m

Rating

4.7 of 10 from 9 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This television film is about actor James Dean as remembered by his close friend and roommate William Bast. It follows Dean's early acting career and his drive to find real depth in his work.

intimatebiographicalreflectiveemotionalnostalgicaffectionateearnestsensitive

What happens

James Dean (also known as James Dean: Portrait of a Friend) is a 1976 NBC television film about actor James Dean and starring Stephen McHattie in the title role. The role of screenwriter William Bast, Dean's best friend, is played by Michael Brandon. This portrayal is based on the 1956 biography by Bast, which recounts the early acting career and rise of Dean. The film paints a clear picture of James Dean's pursuit for authenticity, depth and artistic meaning. Bast claimed that Dean's inspiration as an actor was inspired by what he learned from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's 1943 novella The Little Prince. The 1976 made-for-TV movie James Dean (also known as James Dean: Portrait of a Friend) includes scenes that depict a gay story, as it portrays James Dean through the eyes of his friend and roommate, William Bast. The film includes a scene where Dean encourages Bast to be more sexually adventurous, leading Bast to go to a gay bar, (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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