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Rebel Without a
Cause, motion picture about alienated youth in suburban America based
on Stewart Stern's screenplay adaptation of "The Blind Run," a 1944 story by Dr.
Robert M. Lindner. Released in 1955, this box-office hit film starred
James Dean as Jim Stark and inspired a string of films about
disenfranchised youth. Jim’s parents affect love for the boy but their words
have no basis in real emotion. Unloved, Jim gets into trouble all the time, and
his parents deal with his problems by moving to another town. Jim experiences
further rejection in school when he tries to befriend a girl, Judy (played by
Natalie Wood), and the gang of toughs she runs with. After a tragic incident
involving Jim’s initiation into the gang, he flees to an abandoned mansion with
Judy and another friend Plato (Sal Mineo), who carries a gun. At the time of the
film’s release, parents were generally appalled at what they perceived as a
morose, death-obsessed film that promoted violence against adults. Teenagers
loved it, and actor Dean became an idol to millions.
Director
Nicholas
Ray
Cast
James Dean (Jim
Stark)
Natalie Wood (Judy)
Sal Mineo (Plato)
Jim Backus (Jim's
father)
Ann Doran (Jim's mother)
Corey Allen (Buzz)
William Hopper (Judy's
father)
Rochelle Hudson (Judy's mother)
Virginia Brissac (Jim's grandma)
Nick Adams (Moose)
Jack Simmons
(Cookie)
Dennis Hopper (Goon)
Marietta Canty (Plato's maid)
Jack Grinnage (Chick)
Beverly Long
(Helen)
Steffi Sidney (Mil)
Frank Mazzola (Crunch)
Tom Bernard (
Harry)
Clifford Morris (Cliff)
Ian Wolfe (Lecturer)
Edward Platt
(Ray)
Robert Foulk (Gene)
Jimmy Baird (Beau)
Dick Wessel
(Guide)
Nelson Leigh (Sergeant)
Dorothy Abbott (Nurse)
Louise Lane (
Police officer)
House Peters (Police officer)
Gus Schilling (Attendant)
Bruce
Noonan (Monitor)
Almira Sessions (Old lady
teacher)
Peter Miller (Hoodlum)
Paul Bryar (Desk sergeant)
Paul Birch
(Police chief)
Robert B. Williams (Moose's father
Ed)
David McMahon (Crunch's father)
Awards
Selected for
Registry by the National Film Preservation Board (1990)
Trivia
Actors James Dean
and Corey Allen used real switchblades in their knife-fight scene together. They
protected themselves by wearing chain mail under their vests.
Quotes
Jim Stark
(regarding adults): “Nobody talks to children.” Judy: “No, they just tell
them.” |
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