THIS IS GIANT!It was particularly poignant as the last (and 2nd posthumous Oscar-nominated) performance of James Dean’s ragically short career - he was starring in his third and final feature afterEast of Eden (1955)andRebel Without a Cause (1955).The lead character is portrayed as a sexually magnetic, cocky, completely amoral, emotionally brutal, ruthless, and terribly lethal individual.He is there to conduct the investigation of the car bombing in his jurisdiction.Appearing with a vast paunch and slovenly dressed in a massive gray raincoat and wide-brimmed hat, he is chomping on a cigar as he speaks.The title of the film is an anomaly and a clue to the absurd, confused plot in which no one is what he/she appears to be - there is no sharply delineated N by NW on a compass - it is an improbable direction.A peaceful band or tribe of prehistoric ape-men (Australopithecines) appear, squat and hairy, eating grass.