The following analysis reveals a comprehensive look at the storyform for rebel without a cause. Rebel without a cause, lays the groundwork for its conflict early on, the movie opening in a police station, where a drunken stark entreats his parents to say what they mean. They hold him their juvenile detention center at the jail where two other troubled teens are under arrest. With james dean, natalie wood, sal mineo, jim backus. A truly landmark film, rebel went where almost no hollywood film had dared, exposing the anger and discontent beneath the prosperity and confidence of postwar america, picking at family values. The film begins as the police haul jim in for plain drunkenness. Contribute, create and discover gravesites from all over the world. Even teenagers growing up in the 21st century can understand the feelings of rebellion and isolation that were experienced by the teenagers in the film. They hold him their juvenile detention center at the jail. Nicholas rays rebel without a cause slant magazine. Filmed in the then recently introduced cinemascope format and directed by nicholas ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments. The film was a groundbreaking attempt to portray the moral decay of american youth, critique parental style, and explore t. Rebel without a cause 1955 movie mistakes, goofs and.
Because of the way weirdness seems to bubble just beneath the surface of the melodramatic plot, because of the oddness of deans mannered acting and mineos narcissistic selfpity, because of the cluelessness of the heros father, because of all of these apparent flaws, rebel without a cause has a greater interest than if it had been tidier and more sensible. The film opens with the image of a seemingly drunken young man named jim stark, lying down and playing with a toy monkey. Unlike most of the analysis found herewhich simply lists the unique individual story appreciationsthis indepth study details the actual encoding for each structural item. P rofoundly romantic and lacerating in its despair, nicholas rays rebel without a cause, a selfcontained portrait of three isolated teenagers, is james deans best film and best performance it ranks high in rays work as well. The opening of rebel without a cause introduces three upper middle class rebellious teens, jim, judy, and plato, and their respective troubled family relationships.
He gets mixed up with the wrong crowd and a doomed game of chicken to prove his worth. James dean plays jim stark, a teenager coping with making new friends at a new high school. Rebel without a cause is essentially a sociological case study in american masculinityits attractions, its limitations, its pathologies, its postures, and its obstacles. The plot of the film essentially traces jims desire as a teenage boy to. Jan 30, 2017 at that moment, rebel without a cause changed the rules for the portrayal of teenagers on screen.
Dean played jim, a troubled but sensitive teenager who, although rejecting his. Turner classic movies presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from one of the largest film libraries in the world. Find video, photos, forums, and much more for some of the best movies ever made only at tcm. There are many reasons to celebrate rebel without a cause, the epochal 1955 film that screenwriter stewart stern called the story of a. Jimmy is a problematic man that has been travelling from one town to another because of his behaviour and his problems with the justice and the alcohol.
Rebel without a cause is a searing melodrama featuring keen insight into 50s juvenile attitude and james deans cool, iconic performance. Embracing all of these wellknown story elements and creating a fresh take on this. Rebel without a cause is a tough film to watch because of its gripping drama, yet it is a film that will always be its own unique entity. While searching for some stability, stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, plato sal mineo, and falls for local girl judy natalie wood. Though he finds some of this in his relation with judy, and a.
Oct 10, 2007 plot summary this story is about jimmy stark james dean, who is a young man that arrived to a new town where he met judy nathalie wood and plato sal mineo. Plot summary this story is about jimmy stark james dean, who is a young man that arrived to a new town where he met judy nathalie wood and plato sal mineo. Rebel without a cause began as a case history, written in 1944 by dr. Rebel without a cause the plot bears no resemblance to the content of a book of the same title published a few years ago. 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 mixedup teens. The angstridden teen has become such a familiar archetype that its hard to imagine the impact of the original. Rebel without a cause is a 1955 american drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middleclass teenagers. Rebel without a cause is a searing melodrama featuring keen insight into 50s.
Rebel without a cause 1955 directed by nicholas ray. Does that approach make it less powerful, or did the filmmakers and cast still pull it off. Embracing all of these wellknown story elements and creating a fresh take on. This study guide consists of approximately 18 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of rebel without a cause.
Rebel without a cause 1955 is a film that sympathetically views rebellious, american, restless, misunderstood, middleclass youth. Of course the problem is, when you watch this movie now, it doesnt seem as original, for of the. The best movie quotes, movie lines and film phrases by movie quotes. Nicholas rays mythic saga of teen disobedience rebel without a cause stars james dean and natalie wood. In full transcriptions of their fortysix sessions, lindner takes his patient into the depths and recesses of his childhood memories. Rebel without a cause 1955 after moving to a new town, troublemaking teen jim stark james dean is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. Synopsis after moving to a new town, troublemaking teen jim stark james dean is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. Rebel without a cause is the highly influential coming of age drama classic. 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. Rebel without a cause is a movie concerning teenagers.
Rebel without a cause, american film drama, released in 1955, that is a classic tale of teenage rebellion and angst. While jim tries to deal with buzz, he becomes friends with a shy 15yearold boy, john, who is nicknamed plato sal mineo, who was also at the police station the night of the opening. Teenage angst helps to tell the story in rebel without a cause. Authority and selfexpression in rebel without a cause and shadowboxing. Here he hopes to find the love he doesnt get from his middleclass family.
Robert lindners 1944 classic rebel without a cause follows the successful analysis and hypnosis of a criminal psychopath, harold. I was astounded while watching this movie as i recognized aspects that other films took from this film. The films tormented central characters are all introduced during a single. Why rebel without a cause was a milestone for gay rights. Rebel without a cause in this powerful study of juvenile violence, dean is riveting as a teenager groping for love from a society he finds alien and oppressive. The time frame of the films plot is set over a little more than one twentyfour hour. Its true that some of its details and performances dont ring true, especially the cartoonish portrayals of the teens parents. Marlon brandos the wild one 1953 popularized juvenile delinquency in films, and rebel without a cause was one of the better movies that dealt with the topic. The film was partially shot in black and white, but the studio then stopped production and reshot in colour. Rebel without a cause 1955 i dont ever wanna be like. Jim is neither a goofybutgoodnatured andy hardy type nor a bowery boysstyle juvenile. Jun 17, 2011 rebel without a cause movie clip i go with the kids duration. Rebel without a causethe outsiders synopsis fandango. This shows up later in the film when he repeatedly asks his father, what do you.
Plot jim, judy and plato, three high school students, are suspected of the beating of a. Rebel without a cause 1955 movie summary and film synopsis. A plea for understanding of the days younger generation, rebel without a cause focused on three youngsters. At that moment, rebel without a cause changed the rules for the portrayal of teenagers on screen. Rebel without a cause an alienated teenager tries to. The result is a movie that leaves a mark when its finished, using an actorcentered filming style and superb acting to tell its story. When his mother, father and grandmother arrive at the police station to. In both east of eden and rebel without a cause james dean embodied a restless youngster unable to cope with his future because of the insecurity of the present and the failings of his parents. Rebel without a cause the finale summary and analysis. Rebel without a cause presents the difficulties and challenges that teens faced in the 1950s and continue to face today. Rebel without a cause is one of the great classics with a sociological impact that has seldom been reached by any film, and likely never surpassed.
The film appeals to so many audiences because it is applicable across generations. If i had one day when i didnt have to be all confused and i didnt have to feel that i was ashamed of everything. For the first time, these three have found kindred spirits but the adults and kids who have made their lives miserable havent given up yet, leading to tragedy. Read the full synopsis of rebel without a cause, 1955, directed by nicholas ray, with james dean, natalie wood, sal mineo, at turner classic movies. Unlike johnny, his anger was still internalized, waiting for the moment of explosion. Rebel without a cause 1955 he called me a dirty tramp. Rebel without a cause movie posthumous reunion, a find a grave. Jun 20, 2014 there are many reasons to celebrate rebel without a cause, the epochal 1955 film that screenwriter stewart stern called the story of a generation that grew up overnight. Dean played jim, a troubled but sensitive teenager who, although rejecting his elders. Rebel without a cause, in keeping with 1950s studio censorship, handles its potentially rrated bombshell topics without the nowexpected ingredients of profanity and explicit sexnudity.
A clenched fist of teenage alienation and cultural disillusion, rebel without a cause questioned the complacent state of 1950s american society with the subtlety of a blow to the jaw. Footloose, grease, and the outsiders all clearly was inspired by this one film. Rebel without a cause movie clip i go with the kids duration. Rebel without a cause was symptomatic of the fifties as a transitional era.
The teenagers in rebel without a cause were searching for the same thing, and as i watched the film, spellbound by their beauty and their pathos, they seemed to me to be the furthest thing from melodramatic, because they were fighting to regain their childhood innocence. The tale of youthful defiance, which could have been exploitative but wasnt, provides a rich, but stylized and partly outdated look at the world of the conformist mid1950s from the perspective of the main adolescent male character a troubled. A warnercolor cinemascope production starring james dean and natalie wood, borrowing its title from a 1944 nonfiction book, the film was part of a larger shift in hollywood towards addressing a teenage audience, at a time when teenagers started to be seen as a distinct. When it was first released, it was original and inspired, im sure. The film stars james dean, sal mineo, and natalie wood. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of rebel without a cause. Disenchanted with their own families, these three alienated. This also means it has been incorporated into the dramatica story expert application itself as an easily. Rebel without a cause 1955 is a film that sympathetically views rebellious. Rebel without a cause movie quotes rotten tomatoes. Rebel without a cause began as a blackandwhite, academyradio 4. When the first police car arrives at the observatory, the policeman there tells them that the kid plato holed up in the observatory has a gun and had wounded a kid earlier. Rebel without a cause is considered a classic movie because it effectively captures so much of the anger and frustration of being young, and it hints at many of the problems that american culture would have to face in the following years.
In the opening scene, jim is brought into the police station for public drunkenness. Out of the bleakness of the finale comes a ray of hope that, at last, jimmy will be truly understood. Rebel without a cause study guide contains a biography of director nicholas ray, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters. Rebel without a cause 1955 ending spoiler movie mistakes.
I agree with eric that the plot of rebel without a cause is only soso, but as he points out, this plot has been done and redone to death on every teen angst drama on television, so only on viewing now, is the plot soso. The 1949 mercury twodoor sedan james dean drove in the movie is part of the. However, when that same policeman arrived at the mansion, he and his partner only ran into plato and then followed him to the observatory. Rebel without a cause 1955 movie mistakes, goofs and bloopers. Jun 19, 2005 because of the way weirdness seems to bubble just beneath the surface of the melodramatic plot, because of the oddness of deans mannered acting and mineos narcissistic selfpity, because of the cluelessness of the heros father, because of all of these apparent flaws, rebel without a cause has a greater interest than if it had been tidier. Rebel without a cause movie posthumous reunion find a grave. Rebel without a cause study guide contains a biography of director nicholas ray, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing rebel without a cause 1955 near you. The tale of youthful defiance, which could have been exploitative but wasnt, provides a rich, but stylized and partly outdated look at the world of the. Ending spoiler for rebel without a cause 1955, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. In francis ford coppolas the outsiders, an allstar cast of teen greasers and socs tangle in oklahoma. Rebel without a cause is a 1955 american drama film about emotionally confused suburban. The exhibitor can expect this story of juvenile delinquency to capture the blackboard jungle type of audience and be a real money picture.
But rebel without a cause was enormously influential at the time. Rebel without a cause wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. A rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies. It is part crime drama, psychological thriller, and budding romance. Cinematography in on the waterfront, rebel without a cause, and the third man of all the aesthetic components that stylize a film, cinematography, the way in which the camera lens is used as a creative instrument to capture the characters actions and miseenscene, is the artistic pinnacle of analytical cinema studies. This landmark juveniledelinquent drama scrupulously follows the. The movie featured james dean in one of his final roles. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies.
Jim is neither a goofybutgoodnatured andy hardy type. Rebel without a cause essays are academic essays for citation. The next day, while trying to conform with fellow students at the school, he becomes involved in a dispute with a local bully named buzz gunderson corey allen. I recommend this film also for high school history, sociology or language arts classes. Because of the way weirdness seems to bubble just beneath the surface of the melodramatic plot, because of the oddness of deans mannered acting and mineos narcissistic selfpity, because of the cluelessness of the heros father, because of all of these apparent flaws, rebel without a cause has a greater interest than if it had been tidier. Rebel without a cause, american film drama 1955, a classic tale of teenage rebellion, that featured james dean in one of his final roles.
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