“Rebel Without a Cause” and The Birth of the Modern Teenager
How “Rebel Without a Cause” helped start a revolution that gave society the modern teenager.
In our current landscape of cinema, film franchises dominant both box office numbers and the pop culture discussions. Today, any popular book series is immediately considered and optioned by a studio, so the series can be made into a film franchise. Through any of these popular franchises, most teen actors’ careers are made and solidified. Teenagers are all over the films of today — both on-screen and in the audience.
Sixty years ago, the landscape for teenagers was much different. More often than not, teenagers were portrayed in B-movies — a low-budget commercial movie. Throughout the early years of film, B-movies were the second half of a double feature (where one can see two films for the price of one) and usually the worst of the two films. B-movies were the home of the horror and sci-fi genres, as wells as teen stories. Many of the teen characters were a single note, generic character. However, teen actors were in movies in which the goal was to draw a profit from the teen-populated audience.
In 1955, this model of film distribution began to grow larger cracks. Warner Bros. released Rebel Without a Cause, a film starring James Dean and Natalie Wood. Dean was a rising star, Rebel Without a Cause was his second feature, and Wood was a child actor, her first starring role was Miracle on 34th Street. Both performances in this film forever changed the landscape of teenagers in film and society.
In the mid-1940s, Warner Bros. bought the rights to Rebel Without a Cause: The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath, simply because they liked the title. When production began in the mid-1950s, after going through multiple scripts and getting James Dean involved with the film, Warner Bros. decided to not distribute this film as a B-film; they sensed the changing appetite of film audiences. Dean was receiving massive buzz from his first film, East of Eden. This forced Warner Bros. to turn Rebel Without a Cause into a colorized A-film shot in Cinemascope (a brand new form of film stock), instead of releasing it as a black and white B-film. They even had to reshoot several scenes because they made this decision in the middle of production.
Dean was a rising star. His first film, East of Eden, was a success in all fashions, earning the young actor his first (of two) Academy Award nominations. Natalie Wood was experiencing a massive slump in her career before Rebel Without a Cause. After Miracle on 34th Street, Wood starred in several forgettable films and television shows, but Rebel Without a Cause would be her breakout role. She would receive her first of three Academy Award nominations for her performance in the film.
At first, director Nicholas Ray did not choose Wood for the part. Ray believed Wood did not fit the role of a teenager in the 1950s; she was not wild enough. One night, while out with friends, Wood got into a car accident. Ray rushed to the hospital, delighted to see Wood had not died. At one point, Wood overheard doctors calling her a “goddamn juvenile delinquent”. Upon hearing this, Wood frantically said to Ray, “Did you hear what he called me, Nick? He called me a goddamn juvenile delinquent! Now, do I get the part?”
Rebel Without a Cause tells the story of Jim Stark (Dean), Judy (Wood), and “Plato” (Sal Mineo), who all experience problems at home. Jim is sick of his parents, who always fight about the tiniest of matters. Judy believes her father does not respect/love her anymore, as she has grown up and is not “Daddy’s little girl”. Plato has no family, being cared for by a caretaker, and is depressed because of his loneliness. Jim befriends Plato, becoming the two loners of the school. Soon, after a traumatic event, and realizing her “friends” are not worth her time, Judy befriends the duo. The newly-formed trio is left with each other to help deal with problems that arise for teenagers in the 1950s.
Teenagers dominant this film, as they are the entire focus of the plot. The teenagers in Rebel Without a Cause all have a little delinquent in them. They goof off during field trips, sneak out at night, and get heated when something does not go their way. Not to belittle the teenager in society, but there is an authentic quality the teens have in this film. The teenagers in this film speak, act, and look as if they are actual teenagers, not actors portraying them. This realism excited teenagers in the 1950s — and beyond. Rebel Without a Cause gives teenage audiences characters and situations to relate to, all with great realistic qualities.
The revolutionary aspect to Rebel Without a Cause is the power the film gives its teenage characters. Jim, Judy, and the others are on the cusp of adulthood, but they begin to realize what that means. They have no safety net when things — emotionally or physically — go bad. Their home lives are no good. They can not rely on their parents for any type of support. Jim, Judy, and Plato come to this realization, which pulls them closer together. For Plato, this is a welcoming friendship. He sees the three of them as a family. However, without a safety net at home, Jim, Judy, and the others’ actions and reactions entirely fall on them. Consequences weigh more heavily on the teenagers in this film, as the parents are almost non-existent.
Besides the opening and closing scenes, the parents of Jim and Judy are only seen at their respective houses. For the most part, they are ineffective parents who are out of touch with reality. When Jim’s parents pick him up from jail, his dad is goofy and awkward with the cop on duty. He is seemingly out of his comfort zone. This shows the ineptness of the father, as well as the parents’ aloofness when out of their domain of cocktail parties and country clubs. Once Jim, Judy, and all of their friends are out of their homes, the world is theirs. They seemingly enjoy all it has to offer with little or no rules. At home, the dysfunction of their parent’s idea of the world returns. They feel trapped.
James Dean was hit or mess, for me. He was great in some scenes, but odd in others. It’s only his second film, so he is still working things out. (This was the only film he was not nominated for Best Actor — being nominated for East of Eden and Giant. Dean would die in an automobile accident shortly before the release of this film and Giant). However, Dean oozed charisma and being “cool”. He walked as if in charge and always knew what to say, no matter if the situation was bad or good.
Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo both steal the show. Their performances are terrific. Wood gives great depth to her character. She initially is part of the “in crowd”: having lots of friends and exerting a high level of self-confidence. Once her boyfriend dies tragically, she becomes withdrawn and disillusioned with her group of friends. Mineo is great as the teenager looking for a friend. Once he finds one in Jim, he is devoted to his friend. This devotion blinds him of reality, ultimately causing his downfall.
Rebel Without a Cause is a fascinating peek into the life of the American teenager. The film helped launch the teenager to a new level of cultural awareness, and it would carry on for decades.
