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“East of Eden” (1955)- Jo Van Fleet as Kate

Did Jo Van Fleet deserve her Supporting Actress Oscar win for her brief screen time in East of Eden? I always found the scene where Cal visits her and asks her to borrow money phenomenal. I also found the scene where Cal brings Aron to see that their mother really isn’t dead great, dark and kinda scary.

Jo was amazing, but my ex never understood why her performance was viewed as strong. I see it but he never did, and he said she was barely in the movie! I said that says a lot that she stood out so much with so little screen time

The nominees were…

Actress in a Supporting Role

Jo Van Fleet. East of Eden.

Betsy Blair. Marty.

Peggy Lee. Pete Kelly's Blues.

Marisa Pavan. The Rose Tattoo.

Natalie Wood. Rebel without a Cause.

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by Anonymousreply 30September 18, 2022 4:49 PM

Winning her Oscar

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by Anonymousreply 1September 18, 2022 4:20 AM

I found this scene so creepy when I was a kid. Idk what it is about it. Probably just how wicked Cal was being, wanting to hurt his brother so badly due to how jealous he was.

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by Anonymousreply 2September 18, 2022 4:22 AM
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by Anonymousreply 3September 18, 2022 4:23 AM

You may find this thread of interest.

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by Anonymousreply 4September 18, 2022 4:26 AM

she made an indelible impression in a short amount of time. It was her first film. Her performances in I'll Cry Tomorrow, The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight, and I Love You Alice B. Tolkas are also excellent.

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by Anonymousreply 5September 18, 2022 4:26 AM

R5 I’ve never watched that, may have to!

Was she a stage actress? I never knew this was her first film.

by Anonymousreply 6September 18, 2022 4:30 AM

Did she ever act along Miss Helen Lawson?

by Anonymousreply 7September 18, 2022 4:33 AM

Yes, R6 she was an acclaimed stage actress and yes R7 here she is with Helen.

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by Anonymousreply 8September 18, 2022 4:44 AM

[quote] here she is with Helen.

The Youtube video description made me chuckle:

[quote] I'll Cry Tomorrow-An ambitious stage mother pushes Susan Hayward to the top where a bottle of booze waits to pull her back down.

by Anonymousreply 9September 18, 2022 4:47 AM

[italic]I guess it’s time to cut + paste this story of mine from the “Craziest Thing That Ever Happened to You at Work” thread: [/italic]

This was my most vivid incident from my restaurant days -

In the 1990s I worked in a place around the corner from Jo Van Fleet, the Academy Award winning actress. She was quite old, not working, and an alcoholic. She would come into the restaurant after already having had drinks at her house. Or at least this day she did.

She entered a busy Sunday brunch in a fur coat and was seated. Shorty after, a new hostess came up to me and said, “What do I do? Jo is wearing a black bra.” I was confused. “Is she wearing a white shirt, or something? And the bra’s… showing through?”

“No. Jo is ONLY wearing a black bra.”

I looked into the smoking section (because of course Jo smoked) and saw her in her black bra, pantyhose and shoes. Her fur coat was thrown back over the back of the chair. She must have started drinking that morning while getting dressed, then just thrown on her coat while half in the bag and headed out.

I said, “Put the coat up over her shoulders and say you’re afraid she’s going to get cold.”

When this was done, Jo looked down at herself and said, “Oh. Oh.” Then she shuffled out.

Poor dear.

by Anonymousreply 10September 18, 2022 4:47 AM

With Robert DeNiro

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by Anonymousreply 11September 18, 2022 4:51 AM

I looked up Jo and Susan Hayward on Wikipedia, and Jo was fewer than two years older than Susan, yet she played her mother in I'll Cry Tomorrow.

by Anonymousreply 12September 18, 2022 4:52 AM

Herve Villechaize in the clip at R11.

by Anonymousreply 13September 18, 2022 4:55 AM

as Paul Newman's mother in Cool Hand Luke (1967)

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by Anonymousreply 14September 18, 2022 4:55 AM

she worked with Kazan again in Wild River (1960) with Montgomery Cliff

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by Anonymousreply 15September 18, 2022 5:04 AM

She was really striking as an uptight, haughty neighbor in THE TENANT. She’s one of those unselfconscious performers who acts with [italic]authority![/italic]

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by Anonymousreply 16September 18, 2022 5:18 AM

I put her in the same elite class of character actresses as Mercedes McCambridge who make a huge, strong impression even more than the leads.

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by Anonymousreply 17September 18, 2022 5:24 AM

Don’t look at me in the light! Don’t look at MY HANDS!

by Anonymousreply 18September 18, 2022 5:31 AM

That James Dean though. Bestill my heart!

by Anonymousreply 19September 18, 2022 5:39 AM

by the time Van Fleet received the Oscar in '56, James Dean was already dead

by Anonymousreply 20September 18, 2022 5:43 AM

R20 by the time Rebel Without a Cause came out in October 1955, he was dead.

It came out October 27, 1955. He died on September 30, 1955.

by Anonymousreply 21September 18, 2022 8:58 AM

R19 he looked his best in this movie, his very first movie. His body was very tight (by the time Rebel came he was becoming doughy in the middle. Not fat but that skinny flab look) and his hair looked good and face still looked very youthful (his face started to look a bit older not long after with Rebel for some reason).

by Anonymousreply 22September 18, 2022 9:03 AM

I know I’m in the minority but I find James Dean creepy and hammy. I understand his appeal and attractiveness, but he really bothers me.

I found Jo very good in that role but hard to look at.

by Anonymousreply 23September 18, 2022 9:17 AM

Then Jo did her job well. Kate is hard to look at now that she’s old, which is why she wants no one looking at her without any distractions.

by Anonymousreply 24September 18, 2022 9:20 AM

Dean was hammy. Method acting was still new in 1955 and they found his style unique and out of this world at the time. Dennis Hopper always spoke about how mesmerized he was by Dean as an actor, an actor like no other he had ever seen. Everyone would watch him in amazement while filming.

In modern day it all comes off very over the top and hammy though. But at the time they found it appealing vs the normal more subtle way of acting.

He was good. Just always “eating the scenery”, even in quieter moments.

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by Anonymousreply 25September 18, 2022 9:27 AM

I meant “chewing the scenery”.

by Anonymousreply 26September 18, 2022 9:27 AM

Jo Van Fleet was excellent in "Shopping for Death" on Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

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by Anonymousreply 27September 18, 2022 9:43 AM

She also has a great, 1 scene (?) role in “The Rose Tattoo.” She really throws herself into it. Quite aggressively!

Anna Magnani hasn’t finished her new blouse in time for a party and Van Fleet is having NONE of it!

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by Anonymousreply 28September 18, 2022 9:55 AM

Jo Van Fleet... any relation to Joan Van Ark?

by Anonymousreply 29September 18, 2022 10:15 AM

yes, R29 and they are both related Dick Van Dyke

by Anonymousreply 30September 18, 2022 4:49 PM
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