In 1955, the opening of “Rebel Without a Cause” was made to exemplify a tragedy that is most likely not to happen but could possibly happen with teenagers at that time period. With the screenwriters Irving Shulman, Stewart Stern, and Nicholas Ray as also the director. Each main character was crafted to where they had an issue with their father, such as not having a good father.
This film begins with the main character, Jim Stark (James Dean). James Dean actually died recently after the film was created in a car accident. This caused the film to be more famous than what it could’ve possibly been if James Dean were not to die recently after the creation of the movie. Back to subject now, the movie starts off with Jim lying on the street drunk and depressed of not having a father that acts like how a man should. He then gets picked up by police officers and sent to a juvenile office to where he then vents off to the police about his problem with how his mother is in control. This explained how Jim always stirred up trouble everywhere he was, to fix his problem with his family. Because of his trouble making in every town, his mother forces their family to move to a new town and start fresh after ever bad incident.
In this new town that Jim now lives in, he meets the girl next door, Judy (Natalie Wood). During their encounter Judy seemed to show interest in the new kid, Jim. Although Judy knows her position in high school and knows that starting something with Jim would ruin her reputation. Her reputation of course is being popular, fitting in with the “cool-crew”, she is dating the most popular jock, Buzz (Corey Allen). Just like any character though in this film, she also has a problem with her father. In the film, Judy gives her father a kiss on the cheek and her father reacts badly towards it warning Judy that a girl her age shouldn’t be doing that. Judy being upset goes for another kiss on the cheek and her father gives her face a good slap.
On Jim’s first day of school he encounters a strange boy, Sal Mineo (John “Plato” Crawford), typically known as Plato in the film. Also like the other characters he himself has another father issue, his father abandons him and he now has issues of wanting a fatherly figure. He is currently living with and being token care by a black housekeeping maid.
Later in the film tension rises with Jim and Buzz, stereotypical for the new kid to be picked on by the popular jock. Buzz slashes Jim’s car tires and asks Jim to play a game of chicken one night. Chicken is a game to where you drive cars (that were stolen) off a cliff and the first one to bail out is considered the “chicken”. From this dangerous game they played, Buzz gets caught on something preventing him from opening his door to bail out, he drives off the cliff and dies. Strangely enough nobody seemed to care or worry for Buzz but was worried about getting ratted out or in trouble by the police. Of course having Buzz gone, Judy goes running to Jim in a heartbeat and they’ve fallen in love.
Jim tries to talk to his father about this but his father shows no support so Jim tries to go to the police for help, but he encounters Buzz’s gang and they chase him down to prevent him from telling the police. Plato and Judy fearing for him, they run to an abandon mansion, where they feel safe and they start to have a little fun, acting out with Plato being a real estate and Jim and Judy being a lovely couple. Buzz’s gang eventually find their hideout and tries to get them, during this process, Plato is frighten and is crazy at the time and kills a member of the gang. Plato then runs off to hide from the police, Jim and Judy tries to soothe him and stop him so the police can help, but Plato panics when the police shine a light on him and they then shoot him to death.
Although this would be unbelievable and unrealistic at our time period right now, this movie was very influential at that time period for a lot of people. Such as kids who were going through the same pain as the characters in the film and also the parents. It was a lesson to everybody to learn how to do what they should. I don’t know if this movie was influential for kids that that time to rebel though, but most likely that was what happens, because at that time era, kids were doing many rebellious things.
