A rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.A rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.A rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 3 wins & 7 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Iconic Movie Moments: 'Rebel Without a Cause'
Iconic Movie Moments: 'Rebel Without a Cause'
In celebration of the 65th anniversary of Rebel Without a Cause, we take a look back at the iconic film, starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe exterior of the mansion where the main characters confront each other with guns, as well as the empty pool in which they sit and discuss their lives, previously appeared in Sunset Boulevard (1950). The pool had been built specially for the earlier film, as a condition of renting the property from its owner, Mrs. Jean Paul Getty.
- GoofsWhen Jim takes the ammunition clip out of Plato's pistol, he fails to remove the round that would have already been housed in the chamber.
- Alternate versionsTo receive a UK cinema certificate, the film was extensively cut by the BBFC. The entire knife fight scene between Jim and Buzz was removed, and heavy edits were made to the chicken race scene, to shots of Jim attempting to throttle his father, and to the fight between Jim and probation officer Fremick. Although the distributors initially wanted an 'A' certificate, they were told that further cuts would have to be made, so the above print was released as an 'X'. All later UK releases were fully uncut, and since 1986 the film has been PG rated.
- ConnectionsEdited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Une histoire seule (1989)
- SoundtracksRide of the Valkyries
(uncredited)
from "Die Walküre"
Composed by Richard Wagner
[Hummed by Jim in the police station]
Featured review
First American Teenager
"East of Eden" and "Giant" are both great, don't get me wrong. But this is the James Dean that set the archetype for not only the cool Fifties American teenager but perhaps every teenager since. Dean has his white t-shirt, sleeve rolled up for his smokes. He has his red jacket and blue jeans, he's ready to drag and he's ready to fight. From the first moment we see Dean, drunk on a school night, busted by the cops, he's amazingly both personally secretive and universally accessible at once. He's hurt, lonely and looking for kicks - and no one understands him except, maybe, just maybe, that one person in the audience...
Sure, this movie has it's faults. The parents are cartoonish, some of the kids are hip in only a stilted sense and a lot of the movie is unrealistic. There's something disturbingly hokey and amateurish in this portrayal of a typical American town with it's typical American high school. Yet, Dean, Mineo and Wood put on performances that let the viewer suspend reality all the way through..each of these three put on the performance of their lives!
Sal Mineo plays a mousey misfit named Plato (whose homosexuality is thinly veiled). Natalie Wood plays a young women named Judy, part of the in-crowd, who deep down is at wit's end. Both of these characters are amazingly believable, even fifty years later. Mineo's never been as enigmatic or as compelling as he is here as Plato. Then there's Wood - as cynical and alone in her world as Judy feels, we realize quickly she likes James Dean, she needs James Dean - and Dean can dig her.
In retrospect, it's not surprising that the jacketed juvenile delinquent that Dean plays here would become a role model for both young gay men and young straight men alike. He's comfortable being intimate with Plato, his words, his expressions are all too much, too overly emotional (for a straight man). But, the kids, the town itself, quickly learn Dean's no pushover. He yells, he fights and he's afraid of nothing that other people are afraid of - staring down death is just a way for him to kill time. But, he's afraid, something just isn't right with his life. And most importantly, even if he never really does connect with this "typical town" filled with "typical people", Dean does indeed connect - to anyone whose ever been young - and alone.....
Sure, this movie has it's faults. The parents are cartoonish, some of the kids are hip in only a stilted sense and a lot of the movie is unrealistic. There's something disturbingly hokey and amateurish in this portrayal of a typical American town with it's typical American high school. Yet, Dean, Mineo and Wood put on performances that let the viewer suspend reality all the way through..each of these three put on the performance of their lives!
Sal Mineo plays a mousey misfit named Plato (whose homosexuality is thinly veiled). Natalie Wood plays a young women named Judy, part of the in-crowd, who deep down is at wit's end. Both of these characters are amazingly believable, even fifty years later. Mineo's never been as enigmatic or as compelling as he is here as Plato. Then there's Wood - as cynical and alone in her world as Judy feels, we realize quickly she likes James Dean, she needs James Dean - and Dean can dig her.
In retrospect, it's not surprising that the jacketed juvenile delinquent that Dean plays here would become a role model for both young gay men and young straight men alike. He's comfortable being intimate with Plato, his words, his expressions are all too much, too overly emotional (for a straight man). But, the kids, the town itself, quickly learn Dean's no pushover. He yells, he fights and he's afraid of nothing that other people are afraid of - staring down death is just a way for him to kill time. But, he's afraid, something just isn't right with his life. And most importantly, even if he never really does connect with this "typical town" filled with "typical people", Dean does indeed connect - to anyone whose ever been young - and alone.....
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Rebelde sin causa
- Filming locations
- Griffith Observatory, 2800 E Observatory Rd, Los Angeles, California, USA(planetarium and climactic shootout)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $212,780
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $116,668
- Sep 23, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $216,637
- Runtime1 hour 51 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.55 : 1
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