Before James Dean conquered Hollywood, he toiled in New York television. Hill Number One was an hour-long Easter special sponsored by the Family Rosary Crusade--the story of Jesus after the crucifixion, when he was buried in the tomb and then was risen. It's talky, stiffly staged, and very earnest. Dean has a small role, about four lines of dialogue, and he's wildly miscast as the serene and pious John the Baptist. I Am a Fool comes off much better. This half-hour episode of General Electric Theater is an adaptation of the Sherwood Anderson play about a young man who leaves the farm for the big city and falls in love with a rich girl. Dean is perfectly cast as the sweet, vain, naive farm boy--the scene in which he mimics a rich dandy is solid gold. Natalie Wood is perfectly charming and Eddie Albert--mostly known for his amiable schtick on Green Acres--shows what he can do, given the chance. The kinescope of this live performance is fuzzy, but the performances, the sets, and the staging are all razor sharp. --Geof Miller
