Rebel Without A Cause (1955, 111 minutes)
With its 1953 portrayal of a motorcycle gang occupying an entire northern California town, Marlon Brando’s The Wild One was one of Hollywood’s first attempts at portraying a phenomenon that had been splashed over newspaper headlines, nationwide: juvenile delinquency. Although Leith Stevens’ jazz soundtrack was superb, the script wasn’t sharp enough for anyone but Brando to really shine.
It was up to James Dean, two years later, as a confused Los Angeles teenager in Rebel Without A Cause, to spread the word of this run-amok, younger generation on the big screen. As the opening credits roll, Dean as Jim Stark lies drunk in a suit and tie, face-down on the pavement of a residential street. When he spots a toy monkey with cymbals lying in the gutter, he covers it with a crumpled newspaper for a blanket and uses a discarded, decorative ribbon as a pillow.
The wailing siren of a police cruiser means the cops have already been dispatched to take him to Juvenile Division for booking. “Is he mixed up in that beating on 12th Street?” asks the desk sergeant of the arresting officer as Jim’s head slumps onto the table in front of him. “Nope, he’s clear. Plain drunkenness,” says the beat cop.
In another room, a social worker asks baby-faced teenager John “Plato” Crawford (Sal Mineo) why he’s just shot several puppies with his mother’s pistol. The Crawford family housemaid volunteers: “His mother is always going away somewhere. And it’s his birthday today, too.” Plato only mumbles, “Nobody can help me.”
Judy (Natalie Wood), wearing a bright red dress and coat, is crying quietly in the waiting room. When asked why she was walking in the street at 1:00 in the morning, she sobs, “He looks at me like I’m the ugliest thing in the world. My own father called me a dirty tramp!” Her case-worker asks, “Do you think he means it?” The confused girl replies, “Yes … no … I don’t know!”
Jim’s mother and father arrive at the police station in fancy dress. “They called us at the club, and I got the fright of my life,” says his mother (Ann Doran) in a mink stole. “Where were you, Jimbo?” asks his dad (Jim Backus). “Wow. Well there, then, now,” says Jim in Dean’s best Brando imitation. “Were you havin’ a ball, dad?” His father laughs nervously, and Jim cuts him off short, shouting, “Do you think I’m funny?!” As his parents squabble over how many drinks Jim had the right to consume, he covers both ears with his hands and screams, “You’re tearing me apart! He says one thing, you say another, and then everybody changes back again!” The unlikely trio of Jim, Judy and Plato are destined to come together once more on a wild night that will forever change their lives.
One reply on “Vintage Movies: “Rebel Without A Cause””
Practically every aspect of “Rebel” has to do with sexual identity, and the idea of traditional sex roles and how we fit into them. Coming at 1955, this was an important topic that society is still dealing with today. The cars, jackets, switchblades, and James Dean’s sudden superstardom after his death are all window dressing for a very interesting study in sexual confusion, attractions, and mixed messages. The original source material for this movie was a psychological case study book that had been recently published, dealing with a bisexual juvenile delinquent, which bore the same title: “Rebel Without A Cause.” Next time you watch this terrific film, keep that in mind and it will be an experience more true to its original intention.