Before conquered Hollywood, James Dean toiled in New York television. Hill Number One was an hour-long Easter special sponsored by the Family Rosary Crusade – the story of Jesus after the crucifixion, when he was buried in the tomb and then was risen.
It’s talky, stiffly staged, and very earnest. Dean has a small role, about four lines of dialogue, and he’s wildly miscast as the serene and pious John the Baptist.
These photos derive from a private sitting in the spring of 1951, when James Dean was making his first film Hill Number One in an installment of Family Theater. Dean was taken by Hollywood-based photographer Wilson Millar, when he was a struggling actor-student at UCLA.
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