Rebel Without A Cause

Rebel Without A Cause: 1955 Drama, starring James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo, directed by Nicholas Ray.

The Marc Horton plot synopsis: A high-school age Jim Stark (Dean) is drunk and picked up by the cops. At the police station, he meets his dumb parents who wonder why Jimmy got drunk when they've gone out and partied. Jimmy meets Judy (Wood) and Plato (Mineo), who are also young offenders, at the precinct. He meets them again later at school (surprise) where he's the new kid on the block. All the hoods (including a real young Dennis Hopper) are hot for Judy and naturally try to bully Jimmy and Plato. A game of eight-cylinder chicken ensues, tragedy strikes and let the melodrama begin. Jimmy, Judy and Plato wind up at some abandoned mansion (obviously after another one of those inconvenient financial meltdowns), where they try to create some sort of new-age family unit. Since they are a threat to their Republican neighborhood, the police are called. I'll spare you the ending.

The hype: Well, there's Jimmy Dean, who didn't get to see his career really take off after he pulled a Pelle Lindbergh. The film's also got a great title — what headline writer hasn't used "(blank) Without A (blank)." The film was nominated for three Oscars, picks up a nifty 7.9 stars out of 10 from imdb.com , is one of the top 100 movies of all-time according to the American Film Institute and is must-see viewing if you've ever had to endure an intro film studies course at university. I was so lucky that I had to suffer through it twice. Here's the trailer...:

and a tiny taste of one of the more famous scenes, with a couple of legendary sitcom supporting actors co-starring:


The Politically Incorrect Review: If you enjoy overacting and wish to find woeful 1950s solutions to age-old family problems and teen angst, this one's for you.