Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Release date: 1955-10-29
Country: USA
Language: English
Director: Nicholas Ray
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Genre: Drama
Rating: 7.7/10
Length: 1h 51min

Storyline

Jim Stark is the new kid in town. He has been in trouble elsewhere; that's why his family has had to move before. Here he hopes to find the love he doesn't get from his middle-class family. Though he finds some of this in his relation with Judy, and a form of it in both Plato's adulation and Ray's real concern for him, Jim must still prove himself to his peers in switchblade knife fights and "chickie" games in which cars race toward a seaside cliff.

Plot Keywords

juvenile delinquent, teen angst, juvenile delinquency, coming of age, 1950s, henpecked husband, self destructiveness, dysfunctional marriage, los angeles california, generation gap, dysfunctional family, cult director, loner, gang, cult film, switchblade, cliff, mansion, knife fight, loneliness

Short Review

It contains some extraordinarily good acting by the late James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo. The direction by Nicholas Ray is outstanding... This is a superficial treatment of a vital problem that has been staged brilliantly.