John Steinbeck's 1952 novel, "East of Eden," is a tale of two families and one city — Salinas, Calif. — with the plot hinging on the sibling rivalry of a pair of brothers. The movie came along in 1955, winning James Dean a posthumous Academy Award nomination in the role of more convoluted brother.
But Steinbeck's most convoluted character never made the screen. He was cut from the script, possibly because — with a 600-page novel — you have to cut something. And possibly because he was just too convoluted.
He was Lee — the Chinese servant to the father of Caleb Trask, the young man portrayed by Dean. Not a minor character either. Lee's actions and speech claim almost as many words in Steinbeck's book as those of troubled Caleb.