One story where the 'Old School' of film making doesn't do it justice.

Well you're in luck, friend, as it seems Hollywood is very much over these "fine polished pieces" so you have a bright future ahead of you. For those like me who actually prefer the "fine polish" because we feel it brings class and emotions, well we're pretty much screwed. I'd say you don't have much to complain about.

CDEGFEDCC. (Shhh!)

I find it interesting how you determined a movie that was NOT set during the Great Depression, but a decade and a half BEFORE the Great Depression, did a poor job of properly depicting the Great Depression.

Not everything that Steinbeck wrote was set during the Great Depression. East of Eden was one of the many books that was set in another time other than the Great Depression.

Given the period (late Edwardian) and location (small farming community and small-ish fishing town) of the portion of the book that the movie is based on and the financial situation of the Trask family (solid middle class), of course James Dean's character is going to look clean cut (he wouldn't have ever been exposed to any really rough crowds...if you want a modern take on such a family, just watch the PBS series 1900 House and you'll see just how sheltered young people were back then even in major cities like London) and of course the prostitution house isn't going to be crazy and incredibly dangerous (that kind of crowd would have been farther north in San Francisco).

Your ignorance of fact is what makes you hate the film, and you have no one to blame but yourself for that.

"I wanna, I gotta be adored."

Films were usually upbeat with beautiful actors. In the 30's (during the depression) there were more 'polish' on films than any other time. It was an effort to give people a break from reality and enjoy themselves.

Now days everything is reality. Dirty, cat-filled houses, people eating bugs, families crying over their drug-addicted son. And all along Americans are in therapy more than ever...