Lo-Res video clips from James Dean's last TV appearances (for slower connections) SCENES FROM THE SCHLITZ PLAYHOUSE OF THE STARS MAY 6, 1955 "The Unlighted Road" Jeff says goodbye to his girlfriend. The too-tidy ending. SCENES FROM GE THEATER DECEMBER 11, 1956 "I'm A Fool" Dean's character leaves home. A scene with Natalie Wood. Video from the collection of Jeff Vilencia

THE TV SHOWS!

THE MOVIES!

by Billy Ingram

September 30, 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of 24-year-old James Dean's tragic death in a head on car collision.

James Dean made dozens of television appearances between 1952 and 1955 - most often turning up on live dramatic anthology series with prestigious (read: sponsored) names like 'The US Steel Hour' and 'Campbell TV Soundstage'.

Occasionally Dean popped up as a guest on a continuing series like 'Danger' or 'Treasury Men in Action.' He honed his acting skills working in television, developing his on-screen mystique slowly.

Several impressive TV roles in 1953 found Dean playing the misunderstood, teenaged outcast, roles that brought him to the attention of the motion picture industry. His breakout film 'East of Eden' was released in 1955 to big box office. By then James Dean had filmed two follow-ups, 'Rebel Without A Cause' and 'Giant.' Both are revered classics of the cinema.

What tragically became James Dean's last television role was presented on the anthology program 'Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars.' The 1955 production was an excellent one (by TV standards) - with Dean portraying a drifter who finds he's in over his head with some shifty locals. Viewers that night were treated to an emerging superstar at his peak, playing the type of role that eventually transformed him into an enduring American icon.

In the teleplay, Dean played Jeff Latham, a Korean war vet wandering the countryside, falls into a shady job in a small roadside diner and in love with a local farm girl. Jeff soon finds he's in over his head, tricked into working for some small town gangsters who then set him up for murder.

As in 'Rebel Without a Cause,' Dean's character finds himself in a morally ambiguous world where the authority figures are mostly corrupt; he's an innocent caught in a web of deception he's ill-equipped cope with.

One early effective technique Dean employed in many of his television dramas - strategically positioning his cigarette smoke to give viewers the impression of steam rising off his body.

Despite a total cop-out ending, the Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars' production of 'The Unlighted Road' was first-class 1950's television, with interesting plot twists, strong co-stars and crisp art direction.

This filmed production was originally broadcast on May 6, 1955. James Dean was killed in that fatal car accident less than six months later, on September 30, 1955.

As a tribute to the dead actor a year later, General Electric Theater (hosted by Ronald Reagan) presented the kinescope of a December, 1954 live broadcast featuring Dean with his 'Rebel Without A Cause' co-star Natalie Wood in a play entitled "I'm A Fool".

The production (written by Sherwood Anderson) was a stylish one, with imaginative, high-tech scene changes and an effective dramatic performance by Eddie Albert. Also featured prominently, actor Roy Glenn (seen right).

The script for 'I'm A Fool' was a pearl necklace of cold-war clichés, but with a cast like this it hardly mattered. In the half-hour drama, Dean played a small town rube who ventures out into the world alone, landing a job at a racetrack.

He falls in love trying to impress a tourist gal by pretending he's someone important. Heartache sets in when she leaves with her friends and he knows they will never see each other again.

Although playing against type, this was a role clearly meant to capitalize on Dean's reputation as a heart throb for teen girls. He displayed a firm command of the medium without exerting a great deal of obvious effort.

Ironically, the last thing James Dean filmed for television before his deadly car crash was a public service message on auto safety - reminding his fans that, "speed kills."