The Unlighted Road (TV-1955) JAMES DEAN

JAMES DEAN in his Final Small Screen Role
Stars: James Dean, Patricia Hardy, Murvyn Vye
Director: Justus Addiss
Dean plays a Korean war veteran who steps inside an ordinary, innocent-looking roadside diner, but things aren't always as they seem.
TRIVIA: Schlitz Playhouse Season 4, Episode 35;. Originally broadcast on May 6, 1955, and filmed right after EAST OF EDEN, just months before his tragic death.

[@AFaceintheCrowd01]

Dean had that special quality that makes you root for him.

[@muffs55mercury61]

In the nine months Dean was alive in 1955 he was either working or racing his cars but never a wasted moment. Some months back I found about 80 episodes of this series from a collector and this one was in them. Good cast of familiar 1950s faces in this half hour flick. Patricia Hardy would marry actor Richard Egan (1921-1987) and retired from acting in 1959 to raise her family. They were together until he passed away.

[@2degucitas]

I love his easy, realistic acting.

[@davidarundel6187]

Didn't know JD , did shorts . Died way to young . RIP , James Dean , forever young .

[@hollywoodjoe123]

James Dean did about 35 shorts - 1950 to 1955 -

[@austinsandefer649]

This was a great treat to James Dean fans. Thank You, so much...👍👍

[@PizzaFLIX]

Hi Austin 🍕Thanks for watching PizzaFLIX. May the Sauce be with you 🍕

[@BrianCarnevaleB26]

it's a funny thing about this film. i went to work in a restaurant as a kid, and before long I got mixed up with bad actors just like young Dean did here. they lied to me and I believed them. ended up in jail but I could have said no and I also wanted the extra money just like Dean. live and learn, and for me, it was the hard way.

[@PizzaFLIX]

@@BrianCarnevaleB26 I tend to only learn the hard way.

[@BrianCarnevaleB26]

no happy ending for me. at least not them-

[@peter4Flags]

Seen plenty of stills of James Dean through the years. But I’ve never heard his voice nor seen any films he starred in. It brought him to life for me. RIP James and probably your fellow actors in this film. Thank you pizza fix for this lovely film. 🙏❤️

[@johnreitz5676]

"East of Eden" and "Giant" really show his talent.

[@normanduke8855]

Magnificent in 'Giant'.

[@sarahcelik3738]

@@johnreitz5676 Indeed

[@sarahcelik3738]

@@normanduke8855So good

[@trevorthetherapist4200]

I still look to James Dean for style tips. He was amazing on and off screen.

[@kmom452]

Awww it's a real shame Jimmy didn't have a chance to live a long full life. He was a cutie.

[@morgantylerv9406]

There's also a flip side to every situation. James Dean is forever young & people will always remember him that way! He is forever young & beautiful‼️ James Dean is frozen in time at 24 years old & is forever a gorgeous leading guy. 🫅♥️🤴♥️✨️

[@lawrencenelson5581]

What a great young actor Mr James Dean gone to early but not forget Great Story .

[@edwardferry8247]

Thank you for posting this historic gem.

[@eucliduschaumeau8813]

That was really quite excellent. I can see why James Dean was so popular back then. It's a great morality tale.

[@internetcensure5849]

back then, yes!

[@jett8193]

He sure was easy on the eyes~ Thanks so much for uploading this, PF! 🍕🎥❤

[@robertowen8492]

A great short film by JD about how important it is being honest.

[@franknemeth7430]

James Dean is also in Hill Number One another TV special in early 50's .

[@tracylynn1461]

interesting, thanks for sharing ♡

[@windstorm1000]

Its nice to see jimmy in a different role here not a troubled mumbling teen but a intelligent articulate young man. You see another aspect of his acting genuis, which is more faceted than we suppose. Who knows the many varied roles he would have played .

[@dakotail]

wow weee .... never hared about that show before ,,,, BRAVO ,,,, thanks for the upload and the legend James Dean,,, Happy New Year 2023 ,,,,

[@attila7092]

I've seen this a few time before but never with the James Dean intro. Very cool

[@joshuapray]

I have been a James Dean fan all my life, and I had never seen this. Thanks for sharing it!

[@normanbrown9225]

JAMES DEAN Was Such A NATURAL AND GREAT ACTOR, GREATFUL TO THE FOLKS WHO RECORDED HIM ON FILM.

[@zrxdoug]

Thanks for this..ten minutes in and the first Schlitz spot just ran..I like the show fine thus far, but I had to pause and comment 'cuz I REALLY enjoyed the plain-Jane beer advertisement. Makes me really miss the simpler times.. So yeah, thanks for the memories!

[@PizzaFLIX]

H i Z -- Glad you enjoyed it. There are a few viewers that were bothered by a beer commerial, but I thought I'd keep it in for the nostalgia. Thanks for watching PizzaFLIX. May the Sauce be with you.

[@theresatsai1167]

​@@PizzaFLIX😢w

[@jetsetter8945]

I haven’t seen this since I visited the James Dean museum in Fairmount! Yay!!!! Thank you for posting!

[@kingofthecatnap5780]

Went there, too for 35th Anniversary! Was the JD look alike there?

[@murraycowie9234]

Okay, I can see why he was so beloved...

[@rhondae8222]

I liked the movie, Giant, with James Dean.

[@PizzaFLIX]

Giant is James Dean’s best movie 🍕🍕🍕

[@CyberDocUSA]

I came for the movie but stayed for the Schlitz beer commercials!

[@ShakespeareCafe]

Phenomenal actor. The best.

[@mimi-422]

Ty for the upload!💞💞💞💞

[@Lil_Jackers]

I've always wanted to see this!! Thank you PizzaFlix!!!

[@AABB-bm9kk]

Never heard of this ! Interested to see it!

[@handsomeman-pm9vy]

And Schlitz beer was still going strong throughout the 1960's. That's the beer that was distributed to the troops in Vietnam.

[@NEANOR1]

Most enjoyable. Much appreciated.

[@donnabaardsen5372]

As usual, excellent 👍

[@iadorenewyork1]

It was painfully ironic when James Dean delivered the line, "I won't even dent your fenders!".

[@Baskerville22]

Once you've drunk a few bottles it must be very tricky asking for another "Schlitz"

[@jbtownsend9535]

Schlitz Ice is real good too. If you like beer, you’ll love Schlitz. Never bitter, Cooling. Refreshing. Schlitz makes all the difference in the world. Once you try it, you’ll know what we mean. Your thirst will feel the difference!

[@badabing9143]

All the photo albums I've looked thru from back in the 50s - 60s there's Schlitz beer cans everywhere whether it was our family and neighbors sitting on the front porch, barbecues, picnics, holidays.... Evidently that was family and friends choice of brew🍺🥨🍺 My day was Miller lite

[@2degucitas]

We found the Schlitz man in the comments!

[@LandondeeL]

I remember a segment on ET in the 80's about James Dean's TV appearances. A clip of this was shown and was called "The Enlightened Road".

[@strengthandbulkMadness]

Thanks. Just watched on my TV using Roku to stream.

[@mejuffrouwvandalen]

Aww James, I had posters all around my bedroom when I was a teenager ❤

[@stephenchristian5739]

I just can't believe these gems I've never seen,THANKS! Also the ending was designed to try & counter the rising hooliganism that was growing at alarming rate, ..teens with too much time easy life & spoiling suburban life.

[@rhondae8222]

James Dean is good in this tv movie.

[@cherylcallahan5402]

*Pizzaflix James Dean The unlighted Road TV-1955 Listening from Mass USA 🇺🇸*

[@PizzaFLIX]

Hi Cheryl -- Thanks for watching PizzaFLIX. May the Sauce be with you.

[@godfreecharlie]

Just when I was getting to know Dean thru his films he made that fateful desert drive. Later I learned he wasn't like the tabloid descriptions that were used to sell girlie heart-throb movie magazines. He possessed many qualities overlooked by a public looking for scandal, depravity, reckless lifestyle. They didn't find it in Dean's short stay but I'm sure they found all they wanted in their own homes.

[@rhondae8222]

Thanks for the movie.😊

[@nedludd7622]

This much better than I expected. Also there was the nice for your local bar.

[@mortimerzilch2608]

'50's happy ending....because we won the war and all was well. Fiction has to be more believable than real life. Great little flick. ty ty

[@sleepyhollow783]

Reality often stinks. It's nice to see things work out well at least in the dream theater & the land of fantasy.

[@zrxdoug]

Things actually work out that way pretty frequently for people who play life the way Dean's character did..honesty really DOES go kind of a long way IRL. Odds are you won't get the pretty girl to swoon over you, but the "getting off with probation" part of the story rings true, even for us normal guys who aren't Jimmy Dean.

[@robertwalker5521]

No...The line between North & South Korea was drawn...and still exists. No one "won"..It was a compromised ending.

[@carl77242]

Great actor I see all of his movies back in my day I was born then I was 10 years younger love 💗 it

[@JohnVanDuyne]

James Dean was great in this. Short and sweet with a nice morality. All the actors were good, especially the cute girl. Too bad it couldn't have been stretched out, but the show was written for this format. 👍

[@StephenSE9]

Brilliant. I just stumbled over this channel.

[@PizzaFLIX]

Hi Stephen 🍕where you been? We’ve been rocking the house for 11 years 🍕

[@StephenSE9]

@@PizzaFLIX 11?! You need to change your PR department. 😏 I went down a few rabbitholes to find you. 🐇 Happy Easter 😊

[@royphillips7435]

Little JD sure was a natural in front of the camera, I've based nearly everything I do on his little boy lost look ! Brilliant

[@None-zc5vg]

Made some sixty-seven years ago: Dean would be coming up to 91 soon had he just been more cautious.

[@robertwalker5521]

He was smoking three packs a day. His calendar pages were being flipped at a fast pace, regardless

[@internetcensure5849]

would have died 15 years ago, even if he had been cautious!

[@blueberrycobbler]

Cautious? He didn’t cause the accident, he was on a straightaway and the other driver made a left turn in front of the Porsche. So many people are clueless and just parrot what they read and hear. 🙄

[@kaltonian]

omg I thought when I saw James Dean,

[@ghostmanlemagnifique9110]

Too bad that the cool narrator isn't here, well maybe a fresh bottle of Schlitz will make my sadness go away.

[@PizzaFLIX]

Hi Ghost Man -- Never fear I'm always here... but sometimes you can't see me. I regret not doing an introduction on this title as many viewers are not aware James acted in TV. Thanks for watching PizzaFLIX. May the Sauce be with you.

[@jamest681]

At the time of the accident, I wish that James Dean was driving that car in the show instead of the Porsche Spyder.

[@MooseCall]

My Schlitz Man.

[@spartandodge6034]

Schlitz "Tall Boys" always were a favorite of mine in the day.

[@mkptrsn]

James Dean’s vibe is pretty much the same in everything I’ve seen him in. But he’s handsome.

[@ThomasPrior-wv6zn]

WOW SEEN ALL F OF HIS FILMS , READ HIS LIFE STORY IN A BOOK , BUT NEVER HAVE I SEEN THIS GREAT THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS DID HE MAKE REBEL WITH OUT A CAUSE AFTER THIS T Y AGAIN

[@gingermurray]

Pleasantly surprised Dean appeared in quite a few tv shows. I’ve saved what’s available to watch later. This episode was really good. It’s been said Dean was a scene stealer. I haven’t seen that to be true.

[@newnormal1841]

Lamp unto my feet didn't exist for JD. A lost soul that didn't get found. 🤺💐

[@Theywaswrong]

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but Patricia Hardy, who passed away in 2011, was the wife of one of my favorite actors, Richard Egan (Sandra Dee's Dad in A Summer Place, 1959). Married for 30 years until Egan's death in 1987. She never remarried. Dean was killed about four months after this episode aired.

[@paulwalker1793]

James Dean. Legend.

[@nickmalone3143]

.. a bad driver too

[@strengthandbulkMadness]

@@nickmalone3143 Wrong! The other car drove into his lane.

[@GGR741]

both wrong....jimmy was driving his brand new porch spider sports car , along the highway at top speed....a tractor driver , totally underestamating the speed of the porch , thought he hadplenty of time , to pull out of the side road....

[@blueberrycobbler]

@@GGR741 It’s Porsche, not porch…and there was no tractor trailer involved. Donald Turnupseed made a left turn into the path of the 550 Spyder which was headed straight. The in depth details are in the definitive book on the accident by Lee Raskin - “James Dean: On the road to Salinas”.

[@jjayaraman3191]

05jan2023 The Unlighted Road.Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars.1951.-59.S4E35.1955.(xx.James Dean.Patricia Hardy.Murvyn Vye)[Justus Addiss.]{_1pte.2w.9n.7.8_ ./ Dean plays a Korean war veteran who steps inside an ordinary, innocent-looking roadside diner, but things aren't always as they seem./ filmed right after EAST OF EDEN, just months before his tragic death. // Originally billed as "Playhouse of the Stars" this long running anthology series was originally presented live from New York City. Irene Dunne was briefly the hostess in 1952, and the show frequently used Broadway performers in classic stories.

[@larry3034]

Jimmy was talented. A very convincing play, indeed!

[@davidcouch6514]

The Captain was Judge of 60’s Weekday Drama “Divorce Court”. And Judge in “Compulsion”.

[@charovazquez2452]

He appeared in "The dark, dark hours", James Dean starred with Ronald Reagan...

[@C.Hawkshaw]

The truth will set you free.

[@charlesprice925]

A natural.

[@lanacampbell-moore6686]

Thanks🍕Flix!👌

[@trevorthetherapist4200]

Those Schlitz commercials are hysterical. 🤣🤣🤣

[@watchwaddle]

Wasn’t Jame Dean also in a tv episode with Ronald Reagan?

[@charovazquez2452]

He appeared in "The dark, dark hours", James Dean starred with Ronald Reagan

[@bobhollabaugh8044]

James Dean from my home state Indiana ...was a good high school basketball player at Fairmount High School...been to the site several years ago where he crashed and died.

[@deborahleone4351]

This is very sad......the title under this video says this was recorded (or aired?) on TV in 1955. James Dean was killed in a horrible 2-vehicle crash near San Luis Obispo, CA on September 30, 1955. Was this his last recorded performance? RIP James Dean. 🕊💜✝️❤️✡️🙏😘💕🌹

[@eshaibraheem4218]

The Schlitz ad. in the middle was ghastly.

[@rogerpropes7129]

Have you heard the joke pun about a baseball pitcher named Mel Famey? ["Schlitz, the beer that made Mel Famey walk us."]

[@sharksport01]

I have the same dishes used in the diner. Thanks Goodwill.

[@mortimerzilch2608]

beer ad. Shitz is or was a darn good beer. Is it still around? was the slogan: " Schlitz of Philadelphia" ?

[@nickmalone3143]

Its still around here and there .. so is PBR... cheap brew that gave ya the runs

[@MR.B00_]

Natural born actor.

[@mrentremattor5772]

Good movie.

[@michaelterrell]

I don't like beer. That caused problems while I was in the army, because I sent home my pay instead of going out drinking with other GIs.

[@2centsworth766]

I got ten - cent beers at the enlisted men's club. Would get buzzed on a dollar. Still sent money home.

[@michaelterrell]

@@2centsworth766 Ft. Greely only had an Officer's club. Delta Junction had two bars, near the entrance to the base. if you wanted to walk that far in below freezing weather most of the year. There were beer vending machines in the mess hall. A can was 75 cents while the soda machine next to it was 50 cents. This was in 1973 and the machines were owned by the Army.. Everything was trucked in over the AlCan Highway on short OTR Semis.. Ten cents wouldn't come close to a bottle of beer at the commissary. The alcoholic in the room next to mine would fill two 30 gallon trashcans with empties, every weekend, if he had money. He was usually begging for money the third weed, then threatening people the last week. He also liked expensive whisky, so there would be at least one empty fifth bottle. I sent home more than my Army pay most months because I repaired Stereos and at least one TV in my spare time at Ft. Greely. I was the Engineer at the base Radio & TV station.

[@internetcensure5849]

@@michaelterrell Repairmen are not engineers, who design things!

[@michaelterrell]

@@internetcensure5849 The best Engineers started as repair techs, because they design things to avoid mistakes that are commonly made by the 'little tin gods' who have never got their hands dirty. A real 'Repair tech' does Failure Analysis, a 'repairman' just changes parts until something is finally working again, for a while. I started in electronics by doing TV repair at 13. At 20, I tested out of an Engineering course when I entered the US Army. At the end of my retirement I had written ECOs to improve already high quality Telemetry receivers for the Aerospace industry. This included one for NASA to go to the ISS on the kU band. There are what is classed, 'Non Degreed Engineers' where their lifetime of skills exceed the requirements for the job. I designed and built a remote Tower Lighting Monitor system for Broadcast stations on a Friday after receiving a letter that our former transmitter site had to have a system in place, or spend over $15,000 to buy one of two approved systems.. I built the prototype that evening after work. I installed it in two Florida cities about 30 miles apart, the next day. I mailed the design to the FCC on Monday, They accepted and approved my design. It cost less than a dollar out of pocket, because I only had to buy one part new. Everything else was on hand from other projects.

[@attila7092]

I always use to hear.... Schlitz gives you the screaming shits

[@helenapersson9499]

💗

[@maskedmarauder3278]

Unlit?

[@markfisher7962]

Phenomenal casting. James Dean, of course, but that mobster looked like Marcus Welby. What a snake!

[@puck30]

Schlitz! The beer that gave you the s**ts!!!!!

[@Sixalienasa]

He did a Lot of smoking, clouds the mind, not to say anything of the damage to the lungs and thereby the blood system.

[@jordancarlin9687]

this man would take your girl

[@internetcensure5849]

if she is a hoe, as most US females are now.

[@kt6332]

👍👍👍👍

[@brianturner7214]

😊😊😊

[@jaimonjohn2516]

Dude was so too mature for a 24 years old

[@walterbrownstone8017]

Why did they call it the unlighted road why didn't they call it the dark road?

[@None-zc5vg]

"The Dark Road" would have sounded flat (not enough syllables): the other title somehow sounds more dramatic.

[@MichaelHall-mx1wg]

The original short story had a much different plot. At a fork in the road he chooses the lighted road the first time, it led to the diner, and ruin. It's worth tracking down to read. A great crime and morality story.

[@jillmadigan9841]

Cheesy plot with interesting cast and roughly 25 minutes of the half-hour for the actual program - only one sponsor. Early TV was quite different from last I watched (2011). Heheh.

[@joshhughes9628]

Lol kinda funny how those actors in that Schlitz ad were lying right through their teeth. Actors just weren't as good at acting back then. James Dean was a bit ahead of his time tho.

[@rameyzamora1018]

If Dean's eyebrows met he'd be a dead ringer for Benicio del Toro, yes?

[@nickmalone3143]

Schlitz lol ...made you shat green the next day

[@GGR741]

just to put the record straight.....Jimmy was driving his pride and joy , a brand new Porch Spider at top speed along the highway.....a tractor driver , totally underestimating the speed of the Porch, pulled out of a side road ....

[@deaddocreallydeaddoc5244]

Or, Jimmy was driving fast and forgot that there could be a farmer on a tractor in the countryside pulling onto the road.

[@Woodman-Spare-that-tree]

@@deaddocreallydeaddoc5244 The vehicle on the main road has priority. The vehicle on the side road has to give way.

[@zrxdoug]

Baloney. There was no tractor, it was a car driven by a fellow named Donald Turnupseed..he was in the oncoming lane and made a left turn and the rest is history. Dean's car had right of way, but Turnupseed either misjudged Dean's speed (which was only estimated to be around 60 mph, far from "top speed" for a Spyder) or he never saw Dean's car (which is what he claimed). At any rate, Turnupseed was at fault..he failed to stop at his stop sign (the road was a Y intersection, Dean's lane was the only one with no stop sign) and failed to yield to oncoming traffic. Oddly, no charges were ever filed.. Fifteen hundred pounds of aluminum Porsche never stood a chance against two tons of Ford, pretty much drove through the driver's seat of Dean's car.

[@2degucitas]

@@zrxdoug You describe it like you were there. Poor Dean. Gone too soon.

[@zrxdoug]

@@2degucitas I had this argument when I was much younger...a local newspaper columnist brought it up in reference to another racer who had just died in an on-track incident..the writer claimed anyone who drove like Dean was "suicidal" or "had a death wish." As it would happen, I race, and the columnist's words made me see red.. Lots of research later (the painful, reading it off the printed page kind) I wrote a pretty nasty letter to the editor, pretty much torched the author to the ground, he publicly apologized to Dean's family & fans, and racers in general.. It was kind of a high point in my young life, and the details are still sticking with me 40-some years later.

[@speedwagon7562]

…To bad they ruined Schlitz…

[@gregatkinson7276]

Cute story and all but I will never really understand why James Dean was made such a big deal.....

[@p.j.gannon1646]

Because he was just perfect and unique no one like him he will never be forgotten ❤

[@rogereisnaugle6012]

Mind your own business kid.

[@joshual.1833]

the beer ad at 10' was just a crime against humankind, why wasn't it edited out? To feel the pain viewers had to endure? Hope the brand went under.

[@wareforcoin5780]

Nope, they're still around. They wasted our time and got away with it.

[@forsterstewartphotography2950]

There are far worse commercials today... Karen's

[@rogereisnaugle6012]

Stopping that tv advertising nip drinking in the bud.

[@charovazquez2452]

I had never seen this story before! I have always loved James Dean!

[@MooseCall]

What's the problem?

[@solaura6218]

Method acting. A Soviet (Strausberg) crime against America. America. Bad acting & bad beer.

[@2degucitas]

What are you on about?

[@keithstringer1140]

He must have filmed this within a couple of months before his death

[@fukpoeslaw3613]

Ok, I'll have my Schlitz now.

[@handsomeman-pm9vy]

And Schlitz beer was still going strong throughout the 1960's. That's the beer that was distributed to the troops in Vietnam.

[@maryanitaschmidt9651]

I am trying to wrap my mind around what is currently happening i have not drank in 3 decades+ but scanning i love the schlitz era signs as much as the elitte like really bad tasting wine or whining in wine bars... Love James Dean not the best tasting coffee even elite brands. So bad during these covid years but skunk smell with cigar wrappers yuck. Retro lucky strikes popular again..i love them .but then race cars noise i detest too. Now facing my own destroyed dreams i am so ready to move. Then turn on youtybe see torn from devastation tornadoe destruction so here i scan .thinking i hate coffee& ciggs smell but use both products. Nope not a saint sober. Just tired. Long for humor this am. Truly saw your comment laughed! Thanks i needed to laugh this morning. A tall cool bottle of schlitz. Funny stuff..taste...who can say what delightfully refreshing might be...it is not coffee today...it is laughter...ty

[@fukpoeslaw3613]

@@maryanitaschmidt9651 🤗 you're welcome & thank you too 🥳

[@freddyfurrah3789]

Who put the slice of pizza 🍕 on the screen 🤣😅😅

[@PizzaFLIX]

Hi Freddy -- that'll be me. I add a 10 second slice of Pizza in a few spots for branding and also so I can prove when unsavory channels re-post my videos. It happens all the time. Thanks for watching PizzaFLIX. May the Sauce be with you.