Review of East of Eden (1955) by Ethan Y — 24 Sep 2013

In the 1950's movie version of East of Eden many of the key themes and ideas are still correctly portrayed and the effect of the book on the reader is still felt in the movie, making this a very high quality movie for the 50's.

The themes of choice in the book are transferred nicely into the movie even though it can sometimes be difficult. For example, Cal's choice at the end of the movie to choose good over evil when he breaks down in front of his dad and apologizes for all the things he has done. The theme of choice between good and evil is one that is emphasized greatly in both book and movie, as it should. Also the parallels between the Bible are clearly stated in the movie when they openly talk about the story of Cain and Abel.

For being a movie made in the 50's the overall effect that the movie left you with was the same that was felt after reading the book. The acting in the movie was good, in that it portrayed the character that it was supposed to be and acted how the character was ideally supposed to be seen.

Now, the acting was not the greatest compared to modern standards , and a few parts were funny even though they weren't supposed to. Overall the movie was a quality one that portrayed the correct themes and emotions as they should have been.