Rebel Without a Cause

Year:  1955

Director:  Nicholas Ray

Screenplay:  Stewart Stern and Irving Schulman, based on a story by Nicholas Ray

Starring:  James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, William Hopper

Running Time:  111 minutes

Genre:  Drama, coming of age

Los Angeles:  Jim Stark (Dean) is the new kid in town, but is already in trouble with the law for drunkenness.  Starting a new school he falls for Judy (Wood), the girlfriend of Buzz (Allen), leader of the local gang, and befriends troubled kid Plato (Mineo).  Buzz violently challenges Jim to a game of "Chicken" which leads to tragic consequences.

James Dean made three feature films before his tragic death in 1955 at the age of 24, shortly before the release of Rebel Without a Cause.  However his legacy and impact on popular culture resonates even to this day, and it is largely due to his role in Rebel Without a Cause.  This is arguably one of the first real teen films, and rather than see the problem of teenager hood  through the eyes of the disapproving adult characters, it is seen through the eyes of the teens, who are treated sympathetically.  Jim Stark is essentially good, compassionate person, who is confused and mixed up by his lecturing mother and well-meaning, but weak-willed father; Judy craves affection from her father who she believes hates her since she turned sixteen and is no longer "Daddy's little girl"; Plato has been abandoned by his wealthy family and is looked after by the family's kindly maid.  Together they form a strange, surrogate family, with Jim and Judy taking on the parental roles, with Plato as their son, it's also pretty obvious that Plato is in love with Jim, who is in love with Judy and possibly Plato as well.  Dean manages to convey a lot of often conflicting emotions at the same time.  The scene where he comes upon his father (Jim Backus), wearing a ludicrously frilly apron, dropping a tray of food for Jim's mother, which he scrambles to pick up, and Jim looks on at him with an expression of mingled contempt, sorrow, love and sympathy.  Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo also give striking performances, and Dennis Hopper appears as one of the gang members.  The film is very dated now, but it is still exciting, and some of the action is still surprisingly strong, such as the knife fight and the "chicken" race.  It may be difficult for some to sympathise with the teenage angst of these materially privileged, suburban, middle-class kids, but it is portrayed convincingly.  Even though a lot of it has dated, elements of it are still effective today, and it is the film that made James Dean a legend.

Ann Doran, James Dean and Jim Backus in Rebel Without a Cause