Frank learns what it really means to be a father and Jim learns from Frank he did everything he could have done to protect his friend Plato. My poor uncle always struck me as a rebel without a cause, disappearing for weeks on end, getting drunk and alienating the family, and ending up in prison more times than I can count. Just confirm how you got your ticket. Franks structured explanations make problems for Jim. (Stern 117). Ray and Dean both placed a lot of emphasis on the realism of each moment in Rebel Without a Cause, and Deans Method acting meant he wanted to place himself in the most authentic situations possible. Father: Whyd you get drunk? Thankfully, LGBTQ teen characters dont have to look too far for onscreen representation these days. Jim does not have the sense of security that a child in a functional family would have. Routine check. Helen loves a good movie musical too and has probably watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hedwig And The Angry Inch, The Blues Brothers and Little Shop Of Horrors more times than is healthy. . Jims friendship with Plato and Judy moves forward after Buzzs death. Jim considers his family environment a zoo; Jim is the new kid in town trying to fit in; and so forth. (Stern 71), Jim explains the current situation to his parentsBuzzs death, the part he has played in it, and all of its ramifications: But I am involved! (284). Once Frank can assure Jim that his son can trust him, he has resolved his personal drive: And you can depend on me, son. Now, DadI need an answer now (Stern 54). William Zinsser, however, wrote a scathing review of Rebel in his New York Herald Tribune column, concluding his summary of the film's plot with the words, All this takes two hours, but it seems more like two days. These middle-class teen-agers have more complex problems. He referred to a "horrifying duel with switchblades", a "brutal scene", and a "shocking presentation" of a race in stolen automobiles. His parents are often fighting. The police officers immediate reaction to seeing Plato raise his gun is to shoot him, resulting in the boys death; Judys father slaps her as she attempts to kiss him, further alienating father and daughter; Buzz drives off the cliff to his death when he is unable to immediately respond to a dangerous situation; and so forth. He criticized the film for overgeneralizing, calling this aspect a "convenient cliche", and summed up his review by describing the film as "a superficial treatment of a vital problem that has been staged brilliantly". In 1955, director Nicholas Ray had a vision of a film about juvenile delinquents unlike any other in the subgenre. After he joined the cast, Mazzola began remarking upon various phony elements of the script, as well as the wardrobe, the cars used, and more. Jim: Suppose you knew that you had to do something very dangerouswhere you have to prove something . He also looks at problems in terms of cause and effect. I think he felt like he just didn't fit in, and didn't have the emotional tools to deal with that or to ask for help from anyone else. According to a biography of Natalie Wood, she almost did not get the role of Judy because Nicholas Ray thought that she did not fit the role of the wild teen character. With that goal in mind, work on what would become Rebel Without a Cause began. The fathers arms envelop him. Jim wants Frank to start to act like a man so that he can respect him as a father; Jims family moves constantly, ostensibly to give their son a fresh start each time: He described Rebel as a "fairly exciting, suspenseful and provocative, if also occasionally far-fetched, melodrama of unhappy youth on another delinquency kick." Jim drives back home, and finds Judy waiting for him. When Rebel Without a Cause was released, it was a massive hit with young audiences. Rebel With a Cause. You better give me something fast (Stern 73). Rebel Without A Cause (1955) Composer (s): Leonard Rosenman Released in: 1955 Country: United States Genre: Drama Other Resources: Buy poster from Other information Total number of members who have this title in their: Collection: 168 Wish list: 14 There are 3 labels for this title. Some of its charm and sympathy endure to this day, but Rebel Without a Cause has aged in an undeniably awkward fashion, and the result is a film that simply doesn't hold up. Judy falls in love with Jim and is happy, something she never thought she could be; the Stark family is united with the indication that they will be a happy family: Not surprisingly, the landmark Rebel Without a Cause was chosen as one of the all-time Top 100 American Films by the American Film Institute.Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo received Academy Award nominations for their achingly true performances and writer/director Nicholas Ray was also an Oscar nominee (\"Best Writing\"). Jims threats to go to the police with the story of his involvement in Buzzs death are met with great resistance from his parents. He is desperate to obtain his fathers approval during this difficult decision making process, but fails to attain any kind of satisfaction. As an example of how he does not serve his sons needs, he relies on his experiences that are inappropriate as guidelines, and instead of dealing directly with Jims requests for immediate answers, assures his son once he gains his own experiences his present problems will seem insignificant. Warner Bros. went through several drafts of this early version of Rebel Without a Cause between from 1946 through 1949, and while the film never got off the ground during that period, the studio did at one point feel they were far enough along in the development process to consider a star for the project. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Crowther was not impressed by James Dean's acting, and cited the various mannerisms he believed Dean copied from Marlon Brando, asserting that "Never have we seen a performer so clearly follow another's style" and calling Dean's interpretation of the Jim Stark role a "clumsy display". Father: This is news to me! They make mush out of him. Then, a fortuitous development in the life of another of Giants stars changed everything: Elizabeth Taylor was pregnant, which meant the film had to be delayed until June of 1955. The former film earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, and the latter was good enough to convince Warner Bros. to offer him a long-term contract to lock his star power down. Rebel Without a Cause, American film drama, released in 1955, that is a classic tale of teenage rebellion and angst. He takes the position that what works for him in one situation holds true for another in the same situation. Peary comments, that for all Jims inarticulateness, he does finally manage to send a message to his parents: Jim is at Platos side. Their deaths only added to the cultish appeal surrounding the film. More that any other film, in fact, Rebel sympathizes with youth. In 1954 Ray brought his idea, in the form of a treatment called The Blind Run, to Warner Bros., who bought the idea and ultimately asked Ray to merge it with their existing ownership of the Rebel Without a Cause book. Additional Sources:Rebel Without a Cause: Defiant Innocents (2005), 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. (Stern 73), Once Jim can articulate his own theory on why his family is dysfunctional to his parents, he has done all he can do to try to reach them. Whatever comes well face it together, I swear (Stern 116). Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. This also means it has been incorporated into the Dramatica Story Expert application itself as an easily referenced contextual example. 1. This is especially apparent when he is forced to contemplate that the police have just shot him. Frank is unskilled in helping his son understand what is to be a man, compelling Jim to ask Ray (father figure) how he is supposed to live through the experience; and so forth. The entire knife fight scene between Jim & Buzz was removed, and heavy edits were made to the chicken race scene, shots of Jim attempting to throttle his father, and the fight between Jim and probation officer Fremick. For example, Jim comes home to find his father wearing a frilly apron while cleaning up a tray of dinner he has dropped en route to serving his wife: Rebel Without a Cause, American film drama, released in 1955, that is a classic tale of teenage rebellion and angst. Here he hopes to find the love he doesn't get from his middle-class family. Jim begins to develop from a hothead to a cool rebel when he notes the potential for a fight and does his best to avoid the trouble, even after Buzz calls him a chicken. His book. When that leads to an accident and a death, Jim wants to go to the police but his parents refuse to let him do so. He questions him in the police station: I want to understand you. Frank thinks if he is a pal to Jim and relates to his son using his own adolescence as a guideline, that everything will be just peachy, which of course does not hold true. Franks inadequacy as a man and the mistakes he continues to make causes problems for Jim: She eats him alive and he takes it. Ray: You were getting a good start in the wrong direction back there. Financial Times. The scene was considered unproductive to the story's progression by head editor William H. Ziegler and ultimately was cut. Judy is convinced that her father ignores her because she is no longer a little girl, so she dresses up in racy clothes to get attention, which only causes her father to call her a "dirty tramp". This is a film about juvenile delinquency, but from this poster we see immediately that director Ray is on the side of all kidswho have all sorts of problems to contend with (including diseases that usually strike the young). Father: I dont know what to do. (Stern 46). The scenes that follow depict these teens as they try to fit in with their peers and find the love they so desperately need from their families. In a groundbreaking move for the mid-1950s, Ray inserted several clues in Rebel Without A Cause that code Plato as gay. Dont we? When Marlon Brando did a five-minute screen test for the studio in 1947, he was given fragments of one of the partial scripts. He is the new kid at their school, the outsider, the misfit, whose parents don't understand him. Mother: Jimmy, youre very youngand a foolish decision now could wreck your whole life. He is intelligent enough to question potential trouble, and looks to his father for advice. You can talk about it if you want toI know about it anyway. Jim chases after Plato as he runs into the planetarium. [Ray] had terrible pangs of conscience about himself as a father, and I had terrible fury about myself as a son, and we both knew that that was a stream that was both shared in different ways, Stern recalled. Ray: That why you moved from the last town? Coming Soon, Regal This action calls attention to the police and to Jims parents. Its just the age . . Helen Armitage is a freelance writer based in the UK who has been writing online since late 2013. Ergo, I had to be bumped off, out of the way. In one of the most influential performances in movie history, James Dean plays Jim, the new kid in town whose loneliness, frustration and anger mirrored those of postwar teens -- and still reverberates more than 50 years later. Jims inability to communicate with his parents and other adults . For example, as an attempt to smooth over Jims run-in with the local juvenile authorities, he offers cigars to Ray, a ploy that has obviously worked in the past. As police approach, the gang flees, leaving Judy behind, but Jim patiently persuades her to leave with him and Plato. The delinquents also terrorize the Stark household, alerting Jims parents to the possibility that their son is in trouble; and so forth. Jim and Judy hide out in the deserted mansion that Plato had told Jim about. Plato runs to the observatory and barricades himself inside as more police converge including Fremick who, with Frank and Carol, have been searching for Jim. Judy and her family explore the shifting relationships that occur as she transforms into a woman; Buzz and Jim become friends; Buzz dies; and so forth. Griffith Observatory, 2800 E Observatory Rd, Los Angeles, California, USA. (Stern 73). Rebel Without a Cause gave birth to a whole movie subgenre- the juvenile delinquent film, which includes such colorful titles as Teenage Doll(1957), T-Bird Gang (1959), High School Confidential (1958), and even I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), in which an angst-ridden Michael Landon seeks help for his uncontrollable anger through hypnotherapy, . 7:52. Frank draws on his own experiences and his basic drive to protect his son when Jim pleads with him for advice, telling him Nobody thanks you for sticking your neck out (Stern 72). Irving Shulman, who received a credit for the adaptation on the film, stepped into replace Uris, adding the Southern California setting, the first scene at the planetarium, and the chickie run car sequence based on real incidents he and Ray had read about. I put quotations around the words "essential" in that one line because, really, I'm not totally sure what essential means really when it comes to seeing films from that decade. Crunch and the gang implement their plan to confront Jim by hanging a dead chicken on his front porch and driving around until they find him; Jim implements his idea of removing the bullets from Platos gun to ensure everybodys safety; and so forth. Franks lack of confidence keeps him from being the kind of man his family can respect. Dennis Hopper made his debut in a brief role as a goon. It's not a sort of seminal, staggeringly entertaining and artistically satisfying work about being an outsider in the 50s like On the Waterfront or even one most people wouldn't think of like Ikiru. Because Jim has determined his castrating mother and grandmother are why his father is a chicken, he makes every effort not to turn out the same way. There is a warmth emanating from the tight little group. Its a crazy game (Stern 30) by waving a knife in his face; the chickie run is a test of the boys courage; and so forth. [18][19] Most of the knife fight was excised and not shown on British screens until 1967. (the father is mute, helpless . Terms and Policies Dean's next film, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), would become hugely popular among teenagers, largely for its representation of teenage angst. . Coming Soon. The facthe is often seen gazing adoringly at Jim and has a picture of Hollywood heart-throb Alan Ladd taped inside his school locker has seen the character cited as one of the first gay teenage characters in film history. Warner Bros. Pictures, (Stern 68). Dean played Jim, a troubled but sensitive teenager who, although rejecting his elders' values, desperately wants to belong and have purpose in his life. Rebel Without A Cause is remembered as the movie that made James Dean an icon, but it also boasted some groundbreaking themes for its time heres the classic films gay subtext explained. and the Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). To receive a UK cinema certificate the film was extensively cut by the BBFC. Unlike some movie critics, Landry thought that James Dean, under the influence of Nicholas Ray's direction, had mostly freed his acting of the mannerisms characteristic of Marlon Brando's style, and that his performance in the movie was "very effective". An example of how the objective story explores a certain way of thinking is when Buzz indicates to Jim that he likes him, just before the chickie race. . Jims response to Rays warning against striking a juvenile officer is to hurl himself at the man; Jim attempts not to fall into the trap of striking back at the gangs threats; Jim doesnt perceive Plato waving a loaded gun as too much of a threat, and, even though Plato has shot at him, Jim pursues the boy anyway. (Stern 83-84). As production began, Deans passion for Method acting led Ray to give him an extremely large share of creative control over each scene, to the point that it was often Dean who would dictate that pace and tone of a scene to the other actors. Moving to a new town with his family, Jim Stark must choose which clique to fit in with, and whom be believes to be the cool crowd, turns out to have much more to hide. Eventually, once that number was whittled down to a few dozen, Ray pushed the authenticity even further, and asked the actors to start a fight as if they were really in a gang. In the opening scene, Jim is brought into the police station for public drunkenness. Distributor: Mom? He has no time for reminiscences; he needs immediate responses to his difficult questions, however, Frank is not able to give him that. Why were Jimbo, Plato, and Judy in the police station at the beginning of the movie? Rebel Without A Cause (1955) Presented by TMC: Fathom Events Trailer. 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