Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

Stewart Stern (screenplay)
Irving Shulman (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

27 October 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Teenage terror torn from today's headlines

Plot:

A rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.

Plot Keywords:

Car | Cliff | Friend | Mansion | Police

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. June 8

12:00 AM

TCM

Cast

James Dean	...	Jim Stark
Natalie Wood	...	Judy
Sal Mineo	...	John 'Plato' Crawford
Jim Backus	...	Frank Stark
Ann Doran	...	Mrs. Carol Stark
Corey Allen	...	Buzz Gunderson
William Hopper	...	Judy's Father
Rochelle Hudson	...	Judy's Mother
Dennis Hopper	...	Goon
Edward Platt	...	Ray Fremick
Steffi Sidney	...	Mil
Marietta Canty	...	Crawford Family Maid
Virginia Brissac	...	Mrs. Stark - Jim's Grandmother
Beverly Long	...	Helen
Ian Wolfe	...	Dr. Minton
Frank Mazzola	...	Crunch
Robert Foulk	...	Gene
Jack Simmons	...	Cookie
Tom Bernard	...	Harry
Nick Adams	...	Chick
Jack Grinnage	...	Moose
Clifford Morris	...	Cliff
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothy Abbott	...	Nurse (uncredited)
David Alpert	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Jimmy Baird	...	Beau (uncredited)
Paul Birch	...	Police Chief (uncredited)
Harold Bostwick	...	(uncredited)
Paul Bryar	...	Desk Sergeant #2 (uncredited)
John Close	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Chuck Hicks	...	Ambulance Attendant (uncredited)
Skipper Huerta	...	Little Boy (uncredited)
Louise Lane	...	Policewoman (uncredited)
Nelson Leigh	...	Desk Sergeant #1 (uncredited)
David McMahon	...	Crunch's Father (uncredited)
Edward McNally	...	Approaching Officer (uncredited)
Peter Miller	...	Hoodlum (uncredited)
Bruce Noonan	...	Monitor Admonishing Plato (uncredited)
House Peters Jr.	...	Officer at Police Station (uncredited)
Stephanie Pond-Smith	...	Girl (uncredited)
Charles Postal	...	Teacher (uncredited)
Nicholas Ray	...	Man in Last Shot (uncredited)
Gus Schilling	...	Attendant (uncredited)
Almira Sessions	...	Old Lady Teacher (uncredited)
Dick Wessel	...	Planetarium Guide (uncredited)
Robert Williams	...	Ed (uncredited)

Directed by
Nicholas Ray

Writing credits
Stewart Stern		(screenplay)
Irving Shulman		(adaptation)
Nicholas Ray		(story)

Produced by
David Weisbart	....	producer

Original Music by
Leonard Rosenman

Cinematography by
Ernest Haller		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
William H. Ziegler		(as William Ziegler)
James Moore		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Malcolm C. Bert		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Malcolm C. Bert		(as Malcolm Bert)

Set Decoration by
William Wallace

Costume Design by
Moss Mabry		(costumes designed by)

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor
Tillie Starriett	....	hairdresser (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Don Alvarado	....	assistant director (as Don Page)
Robert Farfan	....	assistant director
Gary Nelson	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Stanley Jones	....	sound
Carl Mahakian	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Rod Amateau	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Paul Baxley	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ron Burke	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mushy Callahan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Hickman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carey Loftin	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Floyd McCarty	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)
Marguerite Royce	....	wardrobe: women's (uncredited)

Other crew
Dennis Stock	....	dialogue supervisor
Florence Granroth	....	researcher: lecturer's speech (uncredited)
Douglas M. Kelly	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Frank Mazzola	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents) (A Warner Bros.-First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1956) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Films (1956) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1981) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Fazer Musiikki Oy/Fazer Video (1989) (Finland) (VHS)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2000) (Finland) (DVD) (1-disc edition)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (2005) (Finland) (DVD) (2-disc edition)
• TV3 (1991) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1995) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Bros. (1955) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)

Other Companies

• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence and thematic elements

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (optical prints) | 4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording) (magnetic prints) | Dolby Digital (DVD version)

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | USA:Not Rated (video rating) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1981) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1956) | Spain:T | Iceland:12 | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | USA:Approved (No. 17504) (original rating) | France:-16 | South Korea:15 | UK:PG (re-rating) (2004) | Peru:18 | Brazil:14 | Italy:T | USA:TV-PG | USA:PG-13 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:18 | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | UK:AA (re-rating) (1976) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) (1995) | UK:X (original rating) (passed with cuts) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

7529 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

James Dean originally wanted his friend Jack Simmons, whom he was living with at the time, for the part of Plato.

Goofs:

Continuity: When police backup arrives at the Griffith Observatory, the officer approaches the vehicle on the driver's side to talk to the Juvenile Division officer in the back seat. There are two cutaway shots and now the conversation continues on the passenger's side of the car. The officers within the car change sides of the vehicle, too.

Quotes:

[first lines]
First police officer:Get up, get up. Mixed up in that beating on 12th street, huh?
Second police officer:No. Plain drunkenness.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Time Shift: Dear Censor... The secret archive of the British Board of Film Classification (#11.6)" (2011)

Soundtrack:

I'll String Along with You

First American Teenager

"East of Eden" and "Giant" are both great, don't get me wrong. But this is the James Dean that set the archetype for not only the cool Fifties American teenager but perhaps every teenager since. Dean has his white t-shirt, sleeve rolled up for his smokes. He has his red jacket and blue jeans, he's ready to drag and he's ready to fight. From the first moment we see Dean, drunk on a school night, busted by the cops, he's amazingly both personally secretive and universally accessible at once. He's hurt, lonely and looking for kicks - and no one understands him except, maybe, just maybe, that one person in the audience...

Sure, this movie has it's faults. The parents are cartoonish, some of the kids are hip in only a stilted sense and a lot of the movie is unrealistic. There's something disturbingly hokey and amateurish in this portrayal of a typical American town with it's typical American high school. Yet, Dean, Mineo and Wood put on performances that let the viewer suspend reality all the way through..each of these three put on the performance of their lives!

Sal Mineo plays a mousey misfit named Plato (whose homosexuality is thinly veiled). Natalie Wood plays a young women named Judy, part of the in-crowd, who deep down is at wit's end. Both of these characters are amazingly believable, even fifty years later. Mineo's never been as enigmatic or as compelling as he is here as Plato. Then there's Wood - as cynical and alone in her world as Judy feels, we realize quickly she likes James Dean, she needs James Dean - and Dean can dig her.

In retrospect, it's not surprising that the jacketed juvenile delinquent that Dean plays here would become a role model for both young gay men and young straight men alike. He's comfortable being intimate with Plato, his words, his expressions are all too much, too overly emotional (for a straight man). But, the kids, the town itself, quickly learn Dean's no pushover. He yells, he fights and he's afraid of nothing that other people are afraid of - staring down death is just a way for him to kill time. But, he's afraid, something just isn't right with his life. And most importantly, even if he never really does connect with this "typical town" filled with "typical people", Dean does indeed connect - to anyone whose ever been young - and alone.....