Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Released by Warner Brothers
Director: Nicholas Ray
Screenwriters: Stewart Stern, Irving Shulman, Nicholas Ray
Historical context
James Dean was one of the most popular and influential movie stars ever produced by Hollywood. This is all the more remarkable in light of the fact that he only made three films — Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden (1955), and Giant (1956) — before his premature death in an auto accident. Dean was a product of the Actors Studio school of “method acting,” a discipline that emphasized getting inside the character’s psyche and feeling what he/she feels rather than working from the outside in by trying to mimic emotional states in a calculated way. Other renowned actors who emerged from this discipline include such luminaries as Paul Newman and Marlon Brando, but none of them, not even Brando, made as direct and powerful a connection with audiences as Dean. He is remembered for having brought to the screen the quintessential portrayal of the pain of adolescence. Other portrayals of American youth during the 1950s may have been evocative, but Dean’s adolescents, particularly in Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden, sparked instant recognition among young audiences. In part, this was because Dean had the courage to expose his own insecurities and pain through his characters, combined with the personal magnetism to keep an audience’s sympathy while doing so. These qualities allowed Dean to show audiences the pain of adolescence in a completely naked fashion without causing them to turn away in horror or in shame.
Narrative context
How does Jim Stark’s interaction with the toy monkey in the opening scene set up specific aspects of his character?
How does Jim’s interaction with Plato at the police station foreshadow their later interactions?
What is the nature of Jim’s relationship with his father? What is the nature of Judy’s relationship with her father? What is the nature of Plato’s relationship with his father? With his mother? How have these parental relationships shaped these characters?
Why does Jim react so strongly to being called “chicken?”
When Jim, Judy, and Plato pretend to be a family, what do their actions and lines reveal about their conceptions of family life?
Why does Plato choose to hide out in the planetarium when he is on the run?
How many different instances of betrayal, real or imagined, can you recall from the film?
What is the significance of the film’s title?
Aesthetic context
Jim appears to regard his father as an inadequate male role model. What images throughout the film reflect this impression of the elder Stark?
Jim is concerned with making a successful transition to adulthood, but feels frustrated in this effort. What images throughout the film reflect his sense of being trapped in childhood?
What is the significance of Jim’s red jacket?
What is the significance of the planetarium show the kids see?
When Jim, Judy, and Plato pretend to be a family, what is the significance of the setting in which this game is played out?
