Caught up in the whirlwind that was James Dean, Smith played affectingly opposite the nascent icon as they both made their feature debuts for Elia Kazan. Based on the John Steinbeck novel and set in 1917 California, the emotional story of disconnect and longing in a fracturing family circles back to an absent mother (Oscar-winning Jo Van Fleet, also in her first film), a madam in whose bordello Smith makes her living. With Raymond Massey, Burl Ives, Richard Davalos, and Julie Harris.