Film Friday: «Rebel Without A Cause» (1955)
This week on «Film Friday» I bring you one of the most powerful and groundbreaking portrayals of juvenile delinquency in cinema history. This is also film that immortalized James Dean as the ultimate rebel and solidified his status as a screen legend. Directed by Nicholas Ray, Rebel Without a Cause (1955) opens with teenager Jim Stark (James Dean) sprawled drunk on the sidewalk, playing with a toy monkey. He is then taken to the police station, where two other teens have also been brought in: Judy (Natalie Wood), who was found wandering the streets, and John «Plato» Crawford (Sal Mineo), who was caught shooting puppies. On the first day of school, Jim learns that Judy is his neighbour and offers her a ride. She refuses, and is picked up by her boyfriend, Buzz Gunderson (Corey Allen) and their group of delinquent friends. Jim goes alone to school, where he is shunned by most of the student body, except Plato, who comes to idolize him as a father figure. James Dean, Sa...