Rebel Without a Cause

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Rebel Without a Cause

Directed by	Nicholas Ray
Produced by	David Weisbart
Written by	Nicholas Ray (story) Irving Shulman (adaptation) Stewart Stern (screenwriter)
Starring	James Dean Natalie Wood Sal Mineo Jim Backus Ann Doran
Music by	Leonard Rosenman
Cinematography	Ernest Haller
Editing by	William H. Ziegler
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	October 27, 1955
Running time	111 min.
Language	English
Budget	$1,500,000 (est)
IMDb profile

Image:Rebel Without a Cause screenshot.jpg Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 film which tells the story of a rebellious teenager who comes to a new town, meets a girl, defies his parents and faces the local gang. It sought to portray the existing decay of youth in middle America, critique parental style, and expose the rift between two generations. The title refers to psychiatrist Robert Lindner's 1944 book, Rebel Without A Cause: The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath.

1 Plot Summary
2 Trivia
3 Cast
4 Famous dialogue from the film
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Plot Summary

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The main plot centeres around Jim Stark, a 17 year old. Stark and his two parents move to L.A., where he starts to study at Dawson High School.

When trying to fit in at the school, he gets himself involved in dangerous games with a local bully and tough guy named Buzz. While he tries to deal with Buzz, he befriends a 13 year old, Plato, (who sees Stark as a role model) and a beautiful girl named Judy.....

[edit] Trivia

In the book titled The Celluloid Closet and the subsequent documentary film of the same name, there are reports that original script of the film depicted Sal Mineo's character as more explicitly homosexual. However film historian Jerold Simmons notes that while a representative for the Production Code Administration was particularly concerned about the movie's potential effect on a teen audience, and posed questions about the relationship between Dean's and Mineo's characters, no script changes were made. According to Sam Kashner's Vanity Fair piece about Nicholas Ray and the making of Rebel, Mineo, Dean, and Ray all intended for Plato to be seen as gay[1]. Kashner quotes Mineo as claiming that Plato was the first gay teenager on film, and Dean as instructing Mineo to "Look at me the way I look at Natalie." The writer of the film has said that if he were writing the script today (or in the 1990s) he would have made the Sal Mineo character's homosexuality more explicit.

A more serious reservation about possible hints at an incestuous relationship between Natalie Wood's character and her father was also dropped with no changes in either the script or the finished film.

The Griffith Observatory is featured prominently in the film and is the site of the movie's climax.

All three of the main stars (James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo) died relatively young under tragic circumstances. Dean was killed in a traffic accident on September 30, 1955 aged 24, Wood drowned on November 29, 1981 aged 43, and Mineo was murdered on February 12, 1976 aged 37.

James Dean was said to have encouraged Sal Mineo's attraction toward him during filming and asked Mineo to react to him the way he would with Natalie Wood. Mineo later recalled being in love with Dean but was too young to realize it.

The project kicked around Hollywood for nearly a decade before the film was finally produced. Marlon Brando even filmed a five-minute screen test for the Jim Stark role in 1947 (included on the special edition DVD of A Streetcar Named Desire) and was apparently offered the part, but finally turned it down for unknown reasons.

The pop band Jim Stärk is named after the film's main character.

The 80's pop group The Smiths quote a line from the movie for the song Strech Out And Wait: "As we lie, you say : Will the world end in the night time ? (I really don't know) Or will the world end in the day time ? (I really don't know) And is there any point ever having children ? Oh, I don't know. What I do know is we're Here and it's Now".

There is a brief moment of meta-humor when Jim Stark verbally mocks his father in the voice of Mr. Magoo. (Jim Backus was the voice of the famous cartoon character.) Backus later said that the studio was upset by Dean's insistence on doing the line in the voice of Magoo (a character owned by the UPA studio) and actually made the absurd suggestion that, "since this is a Warner Brothers film, couldn't he do Bugs Bunny instead?"

[edit] Cast

James Dean – Jim Stark
Natalie Wood – Judy
Sal Mineo – John "Plato" Crawford
Jim Backus – Frank Stark
Ann Doran – Mrs. Stark
Corey Allen – Buzz Gunderson
William Hopper – Judy's father
Rochelle Hudson – Judy's mother
Edward Platt – Ray Fremick
Nick Adams – Chick
Dennis Hopper – Goon
Jack Grinnage – Moose

Award nominations:

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor – Sal Mineo
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress – Natalie Wood
Best Writing, Motion Picture Story – Nicholas Ray
BAFTA Award for Best Film
BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor – James Dean

[edit] Famous dialogue from the film

Nobody talks to children. No, they just tell them.

If I had one day when I didn't have to be all confused and I didn't have to feel that I was ashamed of everything. If I felt that I belonged someplace. You know?

You're tearing me apart!

What would he know about 'man alone'?

Wanna' see a monkey?

Jim, do you think the end of the world will come at nighttime? (Referenced in the Tiger Army song "Last Night")