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Rebel Without A Cause (1955)
Released By: Warner Home Video   Rating: Not Rated   In Theaters: N/A
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Studio: Warner Home Video
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Nicholas Ray
Language: English
Official Website: N/A
Theatrical Release: N/A
Home Video Release: N/A
Cast: Dennis Hopper, James Dean, Jim Backus, Natalie Wood, Nick Adams, Sal Mineo
Published ID: 1487
UPC: 085391406921, 012569683235,
Plot: This landmark juvenile-delinquent drama scrupulously follows the classic theatrical disciplines, telling all within a 24-hour period. Teenager Jimmy Stark (James Dean) can't help but get into trouble, a problem that has forced his appearance-conscious parents (Jim Backus and Ann Doran) to move from one town to another. The film's tormented central characters are all introduced during a single night-court session, presided over by well-meaning social worker Ray (Edward Platt). Jimmy, arrested on a drunk-and-disorderly charge, screams You're tearing me apart! as his blind-sided parents bicker with one another over how best to handle the situation. Judy (Natalie Wood) is basically a good kid but behaves wildly out of frustration over her inability to communicate with her deliberately distant father (William Hopper). (The incestuous subtext of this relationship is discreetly handled, but the audience knows what's going on in the minds of Judy and her dad at all times.) And Plato (Sal Mineo), who is so sensitive that he threatens to break apart like porcelain, has taken to killing puppies as a desperate bid for attention from his wealthy, always absent parents. The next morning, Jimmy tries to start clean at a new high school, only to run afoul of local gang leader Buzz (Corey Allen), who happens to be Judy's boyfriend. Anxious to fit in, Jimmy agrees to settle his differences with a nocturnal Chickie Run: he and Buzz are to hop into separate stolen cars, then race toward the edge of a cliff; whoever jumps out of the car first is the chickie. When asked if he's done this sort of thing before, Jimmy lies, That's all I ever do. This wins him the undying devotion of fellow misfit Plato. At the appointed hour, the Chickie Run takes place, inaugurated by a wave of the arms from Judy. The cars roar toward the cliff; Jimmy is able to jump clear, but Buzz, trapped in the driver's set when his coat gets caught on the door handle, plummets to his death. In the convoluted logic of Buzz' gang, Jimmy is held responsible for the boy's death. For the rest of the evening, he is mercilessly tormented by Buzz' pals, even at his own doorstep. After unsuccessfully trying to sort things out with his weak-willed father, Jimmy runs off into the night. He links up with fellow lost souls Judy and Plato, hiding out in an abandoned palatial home and enacting the roles of father, mother, and son. For the first time, these three have found kindred spirits -- but the adults and kids who have made their lives miserable haven't given up yet, leading to tragedy. Out of the bleakness of the finale comes a ray of hope that, at last, Jimmy will be truly understood. Rebel Without a Cause began as a case history, written in 1944 by Dr. Robert Lindner. Originally intended as a vehicle for Marlon Brando, the property was shelved until Brando's The Wild One (1953) opened floodgates for films about crazy mixed-up teens. Director Nicholas Ray, then working on a similar project, was brought in to helm the film version. His star was James Dean, fresh from Warners' East of Eden. Ray's low budget dictated that the new film be lensed in black-and-white, but when East of Eden really took off at the box office, the existing footage was scrapped and reshot in color. This was great, so far as Ray was concerned, inasmuch as he had a predilection for symbolic color schemes. James Dean's hot red jacket, for example, indicated rebellion, while his very blue blue jeans created a near luminescent effect (Ray had previously used the same vivid color combination on Joan Crawford in Johnny Guitar). As part of an overall bid for authenticity, real-life gang member Frank Mazzola was hired as technical advisor for the fight scenes. To extract as natural a performance as possible from Dean, Ray redesigned the Stark family's living room set to resemble Ray's own home, where Dean did most of his rehearsing. Speaking of interior sets, the mansion where the three troubled teens hide out had previously been seen as the home of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. Of the reams of on-set trivia concerning Rebel, one of the more amusing tidbits involves Dean's quickie in-joke impression of cartoon character Mr. Magoo -- whose voice was, of course, supplied by Jim Backus, who played Jimmy's father. Viewing the rushes of this improvisation, a clueless Warner Bros. executive took Dean to task, saying in effect that if he must imitate an animated character, why not Warners' own Bugs Bunny? Released right after James Dean's untimely death, Rebel Without a Cause netted an enormous profit. The film almost seems like a eulogy when seen today, since so many of its cast members -- James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Nick Adams -- died young. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
Extras make this DVD a keeper.
Added 11/12/2009
This is one of my favorite movies, but the extra features on this DVD made it special. The interviews were such a welcome surprise!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
one of the best!
Added 8/6/2009
Love James Dean, love watching 20 somethings playing teenagers dressed to the nines! Love cops who smack common sense into drunk kids!

Has to be one of the best teen angst films ever!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
A few thoughts...
Added 6/3/2009
Nicholas Ray's 'Rebel without a cause' is one of those layered parables that lends itself very easily to analysis - and could be deconstructed several different ways.. What appeals to me beyond the substance of this movie is the very simple ways in which it grasps the viewer.. and usually when people talk about the movie they focus on the emotion of Dean's performance.
It strikes me that the subtle way Ray takes the triangular structure of parenthood is so very neatly reflected and amplified in the new triangular relationship that is formed later in the film (Dean, wood, and mineo).. This new triangle seems almost a dream but it is riddled with the same problems of the first and ends with the unfortunate but fitting climax.. Ray takes an eternally interesting struggle and perpetuates it with no clear resolution - as would normally be seen in a film from the 1950's.
Even when taking into consideration all of the other elements that are subtley thrown in - Freud, homosexuality, 'man alone' - it is the simplicity of the structure of the film and its uniformity that impress me the most..
Very few movies are able to express so much in such a brilliantly wrapped package.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
5 Thumbs Up!
Added 5/14/2009
This movie was a school assignment that my niece chose, and I could not be happier with the end result! Very smooth transaction...I wrote to the seller explaining it was intended as a gift for her school assignment and the seller responded to my concerns immediately! The movie was delivered very quickly, in excellent condition, and it has been an enjoyable experience watching it with my niece! Thank you so very much!
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
Still cool 50 years later
Added 2/19/2009
Teenaged Jim Stark (James Dean) has just moved to a new town and wants to fit in with the local greasers. However, things go horribly wrong when a game of Chicken between Stark and one of the greasers ends in the greaser's death.

Although not the first cinematic depiction of the 1950's youth culture ("The Wild One" was made two years earlier), "Rebel Without a Cause" is one of the best of these such films. Unlike "The Wild One", which barely even had a plot, "Rebel Without a Cause" has a strong storyline which would probably still work if it were remade today, and Jim Stark is a far more realistic character than Brando's Johnny Strabler. It is essentially a coming of age film, chronicling Jim Stark's transition from irresponsible teenager, to adulthood, as he is effectively forced to become a "parent" to a troubled young friend of his, who sees him as a hero.

As it was made in the 50's, many of the characters feel as though they were taken straight out of "Grease" (for example, the greasers, who appear to comb their hair every two seconds), which makes the film somewhat laughable to begin with, but as the film progresses and takes a serious turn, you forget this pretty quickly. Jim Stark, however, with his iconic red jacket and a cigarette hanging from his mouth, still seems as cool as he must have seemed in 1955, and after seeing this film, I finally understand why James Dean's legend has lived on for more than 50 years after his death.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
Extras make this DVD a keeper.
Added 11/12/2009
This is one of my favorite movies, but the extra features on this DVD made it special. The interviews were such a welcome surprise!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
one of the best!
Added 8/6/2009
Love James Dean, love watching 20 somethings playing teenagers dressed to the nines! Love cops who smack common sense into drunk kids!

Has to be one of the best teen angst films ever!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
A few thoughts...
Added 6/3/2009
Nicholas Ray's 'Rebel without a cause' is one of those layered parables that lends itself very easily to analysis - and could be deconstructed several different ways.. What appeals to me beyond the substance of this movie is the very simple ways in which it grasps the viewer.. and usually when people talk about the movie they focus on the emotion of Dean's performance.
It strikes me that the subtle way Ray takes the triangular structure of parenthood is so very neatly reflected and amplified in the new triangular relationship that is formed later in the film (Dean, wood, and mineo).. This new triangle seems almost a dream but it is riddled with the same problems of the first and ends with the unfortunate but fitting climax.. Ray takes an eternally interesting struggle and perpetuates it with no clear resolution - as would normally be seen in a film from the 1950's.
Even when taking into consideration all of the other elements that are subtley thrown in - Freud, homosexuality, 'man alone' - it is the simplicity of the structure of the film and its uniformity that impress me the most..
Very few movies are able to express so much in such a brilliantly wrapped package.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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