Although it consisted of only three films, James Dean had a career tha

Ans: [IMO] D
It must refer to the career because the career was consisted of three films. so A and E out.
now B: Had that generated: Wrong structure and also "Had that generated" does not make any sense.
C : The Career that was of James Dean: James Dean's Career is more precise to use and not awkward.
D: Correctly usage the James Dean's Career and also the clause make sense.

A. James Dean had a career that

"Although it consisted of only three films" modifies James Dean's career and not James Dean himself. The subject of the independent clause, therefore, should be James dean's career. INCORRECT
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B. James Dean’s career had that

No need of past perfect tense. INCORRECT
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C. the career that was of James Dean

wordy sentence. James Dean's career is more concise. INCORRECT

James Dean's career is always James Dean's career. Use of "was" implies that his career doesn't belong to him anymore which is INCORRECT
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D. James Dean’s career
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E. it was the career of James Dean that

wordy sentence. James Dean's career is more concise. INCORRECT
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Hence option D

if we select option D, then what is "him" referring to?

I believe the answer should be E instead. In the latter half of the sentence, the word him most certainly cannot refer back to the James Dean’s career as option D is stating because James Dean is in possessive form.

Yup. I missed the presence of "him" in the non-underlined portion. Option D is missing an antecedent for the pronoun "him". Looks like option E is a better choice. Thanks for the correction.

Sure I remember that rule about possessive form from e-gmat course.

Now I am all blah

daagh Sir
Can you please help us with the confusion between D and E.

One more thing to note is that a pronoun can only refer back to a noun or a noun phrase or an other pronoun. "James Dean's" acts as an adjective in option D.

daagh chetan2u GMATNinja egmat

The OA is option D but option D is missing the antecedent for pronoun "him". If I remember correctly, "James Dean's" acts as an adjective in option D and hence the pronoun "him" cannot refer to it.

I like to know your opinion on this.

Thank You.

True
The cited question flouts grammar norms.

Yup, you're spot-on in noticing the issue, workout. (And as usual, so is @daagh!)

Generally speaking, non-possessive pronouns ("him" in this case) can't refer to possessive antecedents ("James Dean's") on the GMAT -- at the very least, I've never seen a correct answer on an official GMAT question that does so. So yes, this question doesn't seem to follow the GMAT's norms, and since the question isn't from an official source, and it should be taken with a grain of salt, anyway.

I hope this helps!

KAPLAN OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

Correct Choice: (D)

The sentence begins with a subordinate clause containing an unspecified pronoun “it”. The pronoun’s antecedent — James Dean’s career —must directly follow this subordinate clause; the most precise choice is therefore (D).

Choice (A), incorrectly implies that the “it” refers to James Dean himself, but Dean would be a “he,” not an “it” and he doesn’t “consist of three films”.Because of its last two words, choice (B)makes no sense when plugged into the sentence: “had that generated”? Choices (C) and (E) make for correct pronoun reference, but are awkward and passive

I chose D for clear meaning and proper modifier.

The initial modifier refers to James dean's career. Modifier preceding a clause only modifies the noun.