Want to know the best James Dean movies? How about the worst James Dean movies? Curious about James Dean’s box office grosses or which James Dean movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which James Dean movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.
One of our goals here at UltimateMovieRankings.com is to do a career movie page on all of AFI (American Film Institute)’s Top 50 Screen Legends. That list is provides 25 actors and 25 actresses. So far we have done a pretty good job of knocking out many of the 25 actors while struggling with the 25 actresses. Despite only starring in 3 movies….James Dean (1932-1956) is ranked as the 18th greatest screen legend actor.
So this will easily be the smallest table on UMR.com. But it is far to say the man is a legend and clearly deserves to have a page just like all of the other AFI Screen Legends.
James Dean Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort James Dean movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort James Dean movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort James Dean movies by domestic yearly box office rank or by trivia for that movie
- Sort James Dean movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations each James Dean movie received and how many Oscar® wins each James Dean movie won.
- Sort James Dean movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Possibly Interesting Facts About James Dean
1. James Byron Dean was born on February 8th 1931 in Marion, Indiana.
2. James Dean’s rise to stardom…Cliff Notes style. Dean while attending UCLA he was selected for a part (Malcolm in MacBeth) in a play. Soon after he changed his major from pre-law to drama. In 1951 he dropped out of college to concentrate on his acting career. From 1951 to 1954 he appeared on many television shows and had 3 uncredited roles in movies. In 1955 he secured his first starring role in East of Eden.
3. James Dean’s 1955 timeline. East of Eden opens in theaters April 10th,1955. Dean finishes principal photography for Giant on September 23rd, 1955. Dies in car accident September 30th, 1955. Rebel Without A Cause opens in theaters October 27th, 1955. Giant makes it to theaters 14 months after his death….November 24th, 1956. I think looking at this time frame…that James Dean was a lot more famous after his tragic ending than he ever was when he was alive.
4. James Dean was the first performer to posthumously be nominated for an Oscar®….Best Actor for East of Eden.
5. James Dean is the only performer to posthumously be nominated for two Oscars®….1955’s East of Eden and 1956’s Giant. Not thinking that will ever be matched.
6. James Dean was voted the 22nd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
7. James Dean’s first acting job was a Coca-Cola commercial.
8. James Dean was never married and did not have any children.
9. James Dean named his car “Little Bastard“. Little Bastard was involved in many tragic incidents….check this link to find out more. The Curse of James Dean’s Little Bastard.
10. James Dean was showing off Little Bastard to Alec Guiness. Guinness advised him to “Get rid of that car, or you’ll be dead in a week!” Guinness unfortunately proved right.
I could not find his Coke commercial….but I did find a James Dean Pepsi Commerical.
AFI’s Top 25 Screen Legend Actors….with links to my movie pages on the Screen Legend
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
Hi, Bruce.
Since James Dean made only three films, I thought I’d comment on Dean now, though I have now done three males in a row mow.
I have not yet seen East of Eden. I was going to see it last year when Julie Harris died, but that never happened. I prefer Giant to Rebel Without a Cause. There was only 1 young star in RWAC who died in his old age and he also appeared with Dean in Giant: Dennis Hopper, a third generation star.
cheers
Flora Breen Robison
Hey Flora….I am surprised you have not seen East of Eden…..it was pretty good. I read somewhere that they are going to remake the movie with Jennifer Lawrence….that should be interesting. RWAC has lots of tragic ends for people in that movie. Thanks for checking out my page with the least amount of movies.
Hi
It’s hard to believe he only made 3 movies, considering the impact he’s had on popular culture. Of course the fact that he was good looking always helps. It was interesting that you mentioned Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. I wonder if Dean had of lived, would we ever have heard of these 2 icons. I read that the film that made Newman a star, Somebody up there likes me, was originally planned for Dean. I can imagine him playing the Cooler King in The Great Escape or the role of Hud.
Of course we’ll never know. Fate stepped in and he died so tragically young. Thanks for all the work and effort you put into these pages. Where do you find the time?!
Hey Chris….3 movies..but 3 good to great movies. I think timing made him a legend. Imagine if Heath Ledger’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus had been a monster hit and critical darling like The Dark Knight was….his legend status would have been even bigger.
As I was writing this page….I started to wonder which roles would have been his if he lived….Newman and McQueen popped into my heads….all three good looking talented actors…I am sure they would have been fighting over some of the same roles.
Well this website is a hobby….so when the house gets quiet and all the kids are asleep….I am like the Keebler elves….working away……lol. Thanks for the visit.
I read that Jennifer Lawrence was remaking East of Eden. Have you heard that? Lots of good stuff on the man I have been in love with all of my life.
Hey Jennifer….I had not heard that remake news….but I have to admit that it does not surprise me at all. I guess Lawrence would play the lead role? I will keep an eye out for that one. Thanks for checking out my Dean page.
Hey, I thought James Dean played an excellent role in GIANT. That was such a good movie and the way he aged in that was well done. Too bad he died so young. Who knows what he might have accomplished if he had lived to be an older man. GOOD WORK ONCE AGAIN. Thank you!
Hey Bern….thanks for stopping by. Dean was excellent in Giant. Giant is an epic movie indeed. Giant is actually one of the highest rated movies in my database. Coming in at #98….and that is out of 20,000 plus movies. I think you will like the next page…..Mr. Burt Reynolds….he was a lot easier to do than I thought he would be….one of your favorites…Sharky’s Machine did pretty well. I appreciate the comment.
Facts and stats on a Hollywood icon. Good work Bruce. I didn’t know the little bastard was cursed. I didn’t even know Dean had named his car ‘little bastard’ until I read it here. Okay let’s see… I’ve seen… 1… 2… all 3 of the films you’ve listed here! In fact I watched them all again earlier this year on blu-ray. I would say Rebel Without a Cause is the best ‘James Dean’ film and the film that made him a legend, but my favorite of the three is Giant, directed by the great George Stevens. Lots of facts here I didn’t know like Alec Guinness warning him to get rid of the car. Dean had small parts in other films, I watched an old war movie a while back and he played one of the soldiers. Voted Up.
Hey Steve…..thanks for stopping by. I like you have seen all 3 of his movies. Glad you liked my possibly interesting facts on James Dean. I wonder what roles Dean would have gotten if he had lived and kept working. He was roughly the same age as Steve McQueen. Can you see Dean as The Cooler King in The Great Escape? or Thomas Crown in the The Thomas Crown Affair?…or would he have battled Paul Newman for roles like Hud, Hustler or Cool Hand Luke? Sadly he did not even get the chance to really enjoy any of his success.