Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is a 1981 play and, later, 1982 film written by
Ed Graczyk; the stage and screen versions were both directed by
Robert Altman, and starred
Sandy Dennis,
Cher,
Mark Patton (his first film role),
Karen Black,
Sudie Bond and
Kathy Bates.
It tells the story of a group of women, all members of a
James Dean fan club, who meet on the anniversary of his death in the small Texas town in which
Giant was filmed. They experience a day full of revealed secrets and revelatory experiences. The play was a financial failure and was panned by critics, notably
Frank Rich in the
New York Times, who mercilessly derided the text, direction, acting, and even the set.