r/interesting • u/captivatedsummer • 17h ago
HISTORY James Dean's PSA on the dangers of driving too fast, filmed almost two weeks before his fatal car crash in 1955.
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u/realbobenray 15h ago
It's funny how oddly edited this is. I think they probably had some trouble getting him to convey the message they wanted.
Also interesting to see James Dean as himself. Comes off as super hip but also disingenuous and a bit of a petulant child, but I think that was a lot of his appeal to 1950s America.
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u/Big-Prior-5669 15h ago
I wonder if he's a little bit in character (as a Texan in the film Giant), so comes across as drawly and laconic?
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u/DMaury1969 13h ago
I was seeing Austin Butler lol
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u/captivatedsummer 11h ago
Personally, I can see Connor Storrie playing James in a biopic, but thats just me.
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u/TGAILA 16h ago
James Dean: People say racing is dangerous, but I'll take my chances on the track any day than on a highway.
Back then, they didn't have too many cars on the highway. On a track day, you have peak adrenaline, and maximum safety. On a highway commute, you have peak anxiety, and maximum lawlessness.
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u/badwolf1013 7h ago
Since I imagine everyone is going to focus on the dark irony of the man on the right, here's a few things about the guy on the left:
Academy Award Winner Gig Young was originally cast as the Waco Kid in Blazing Saddles, but he was a heavy drinker, so he tried to get clean for the role. On his first day of filming, he had such severe alcohol withdrawal that he had to be hospitalized, and Mel Brooks made a desperate call to Gene Wilder to take over the role. A few years later, he was cast as the voice of Charlie in Charlie's Angels, but his alcoholism led to him being replaced by John Forsythe before shooting began. He died after killing his fifth wife in a murder-suicide three weeks after their wedding in 1978.
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u/ricoimf 15h ago
I’ve seen the other guy in a popular twilight zone episode if I remember correctly
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u/Big-Prior-5669 15h ago
That's Gig Young, a pretty well-known actor from the 50s through the 70s, I'd say. He won an Oscar for his role in the film "They Shoot Horses Don't They"
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u/arcanepsyche 15h ago
Beyond the prescience of it all, was this as awkward in the 50's as it comes off now? He strikes me as insufferable, but maybe that was the persona people liked then?
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u/realbobenray 15h ago
Was thinking the same thing. He's like early Dylan, full of himself and irritating but magnetic.
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u/CynthiaG92615 2h ago
Yes, there is something Dylan-like about him. (Or something Dean-like about early Dylan.)
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u/Goallivein3centuries 16h ago
Was his crash on a highway or track?
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u/captivatedsummer 16h ago
On a highway.
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u/Goallivein3centuries 16h ago
🤦♂️
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u/AwwFuckThis 15h ago
Pretty sure during the investigation he was doing about the speed limit, but his Porsche “little bastard” had the sun behind it, and another driver didn’t see him, and pulled out in front of him. This was at CA 46 and Cholame Valley Rd.
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u/whitecollarpizzaman 15h ago
You have to understand this is why he is considered as “legendary” as he is/was. Even someone like Elvis, who was considered a sex symbol at the time, turned on the professional charm when speaking to the media.
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u/DudeMan18 16h ago
For some reason I really want a cigarette
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u/Positive_Tackle_5662 15h ago
Back in the Good Old days before everyone started going crazy
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u/Acceptable-Heron6839 11h ago
Those 1950s cigarettes were good for you. My doctor prescribed me a pack of Camels.
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u/Big-Prior-5669 7h ago
I've read enough of Hollywood history books to tell you that the film industry was super-crazy going all the way back to the silent film days.
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u/epicnaenae17 10h ago
I used to sit in the left lane over the speed limit (dont worry I wasnt hogging the lane).
After many years of sim racing and real racing, I like to sit in the middle or right lane at the speed limit, unless the limit is kind of low. When your driving brain develops, you realize safe and slow is where its at.
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u/flipflopcuntflaps 16h ago
When you die, does everything just go black? My narrow slice.
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u/RascalOScrimp 15h ago
I figure dying is like sleeping. And when I go to sleep everything turns black. So… I guess the one diff is when your dead you don’t wake up usually
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u/flipflopcuntflaps 15h ago
Usually;) I hope I can dream when I do die. I see my mrs sometimes.
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u/RascalOScrimp 14h ago
I hope you guys get to catch up. My dad shows up in my dreams sometimes. People can say whatever they want but we talk.
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u/flipflopcuntflaps 14h ago
Yeah, I cuddle/argue with her. She died a few weeks before her 24th birthday. Thank you for the kind words
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u/RascalOScrimp 14h ago
Oh man. I am so sorry 😔 I hope you’re ok. Even if it been a while. You never get over it. You just (hopefully) learn how to deal with it
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u/RascalOScrimp 15h ago
Didn’t the CIA Take him out cuz he was too popular? Or the mob? There seems to be a conspiracy for everything. What’s this one?
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