“The James Dean Story” (ジェームス・ディーン物語), Original 1957 Japanese speed poster / press sheet (Not For Sale / 非売品) for the first Japanese release — Size: c. 25 × 52 cm O532

Original, studio‑issued (not‑for‑sale) Japanese speed poster / press sheet for the 1957 documentary The James Dean Story, released by Warner Bros. in Japan two years after Dean’s death.
Size: c. 25 × 52 cm (approx. 9.8 × 20.5 in) • Warner Bros. Japan / 1957

Why this matters
Narrated by Martin Gabel and built from rare photos, home‑movie footage and interviews, The James Dean Story was one of the earliest attempts to mythologize Dean on film—produced and directed by George W. George and a young Robert Altman, with a script by Rebel Without a Cause writer Stewart Stern and music by Leith Stevens. Japanese paper on this title is far scarcer than on Dean’s three starring features; a large “speed poster” that combines artwork and exhibitor copy is especially desirable for Dean, Altman, or Warner Bros. collectors.

About this piece
Format: Japanese “speed poster” / exhibitor press sheet (スピードポスター／プレス資料), printed both sides and supplied folded to cinemas. Marked 非売品 (“not for sale”) at the lower margin. One side functions as a striking mini‑poster; the reverse carries synopsis, biography, and promotional text laid out for theater use.

Design & iconography
The poster side presents Dean as pop icon and lonely drifter in a single, elegant vertical montage. The upper half is dominated by a soft‑painted portrait of Dean in a dark turtleneck, cropped close so his face tilts diagonally across the sheet, the English title “THE JAMES DEAN STORY” printed unobtrusively at the edge. Below, a long, snow‑slick city sidewalk recedes into mist as a solitary Dean figure in overcoat trudges toward the viewer along an iron fence—a visual elegy in grey and pale beige. Bold navy brush‑script kanji spell out 「ジェームス・ディーン物語」, flanked by a vertical tagline and neat credits column:

製作監督 ジョージ・W・ジョージ、ロバート・アルトマン
脚色 スチュアート・スターン／音楽 リース・スティーヴンス

The familiar Warner Bros. shield sits at the top corner in red, tying this intimate portrait to the studio that released East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant.

The reverse side shifts to punchy black‑and‑white. A header panel proclaims “JAMES DEAN PLAYS HIMSELF IN THE JAMES DEAN STORY” with the teasing line “—was he a Rebel? was he a Giant??” arcing from a halftone Dean headshot. Below runs dense vertical Japanese text—part biography, part critical appreciation—introduced with the heading 「◇解説◇」 and 「◇ジェームス・ディーン物語◇」. Down the left margin a strip of small stills traces “Boyhood on the farm,” “football days,” and his Hollywood rise, while the lower field offers a superb pen‑and‑ink portrait of Dean with cigarette, flanked by multiple “THE JAMES DEAN STORY” title blocks and repeated street‑scene vignettes echoing the front design. Warner Bros. logos march down the side, reinforcing the studio pedigree.

Translations of the main captions
Main title: 「ジェームス・ディーン物語」 — “The James Dean Story.”

Front‑side tagline (vertical):
「世界の隅々にまでいるディーンを愛する人々に捧げるジミーへの挽歌!!」
— “An elegy to Jimmy, dedicated to all the people everywhere in the world who love Dean!!”

Reverse introductory copy (opening line):
「ディーン逝って二年、しかしディーンはまだ生きている。世界の何処にもいるディーンを忘れがたい人々に贈るジミーの挽歌…」
— “Two years after Dean’s passing, yet Dean is still alive. An elegy to Jimmy, offered to those who cannot forget the Deans who are everywhere in the world…”

English header: “JAMES DEAN PLAYS HIMSELF IN THE JAMES DEAN STORY — was he a Rebel? was he a Giant??”

Rarity & significance
Speed posters were working press pieces, folded, pinned up or kept in theater files, and seldom preserved. Surviving examples—especially for a niche documentary title—are genuinely uncommon. This sheet captures both sides of late‑1950s Dean culture: the romantic, windswept icon in color and the raw, documentary exploration of his short life, produced by filmmakers who would themselves become legends. For any focused James Dean paper collection, it makes an ideal centerpiece bridging the three feature campaigns and later posthumous tributes.

Condition
Very good / Excellent for age. Colors on the Dean portrait remain warm and saturated; black‑and‑white printing on the reverse is crisp and fully legible.

Details

Printing: Original 1957 Warner Bros. Japan speed poster / press sheet; not a reproduction

Verso: Full Japanese text press sheet with photos, artwork, and campaign copy; marked 非売品 (“not for sale”)

Authentication: COA included