James Dean's first starring role was in this drama based on half of the John Steinbeck novel. The film tells the tale of rivalry between two brothers, Cal (Dean) who is continually at war with his father (Massey) and Aaron (Davalos) who can do no wrong in his dad's eyes. Matters come to a head when Cal finds out his mother, who he believed was dead, is in fact alive, and to make matters worse he falls for his brother's girl (Harris).
Although the film is long-winded in parts, there are superb performances, most notably from young rebel Dean and Massey, and a wondrous sense of time and place that make this movie a classic of its time.