Rebel Without a Cause

Rebel Without a Cause
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNicholas Ray
Screenplay byStewart Stern
Irving Shulman (adaptation)
Story byNicholas Ray
Produced byDavid Weisbart
StarringJames Dean
Natalie Wood
Sal Mineo
Jim Backus
Ann Doran
Corey Allen
William Hopper
CinematographyErnest Haller
Edited byWilliam H. Ziegler
Music byLeonard Rosenman
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • October 27, 1955 (1955-10-27)[1]
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.5 million
Box office$4.5 million (US rentals)[2]

Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American coming-of-age romantic drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Filmed in the then recently introduced CinemaScope format and directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments.[3][4] The film stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen and William Hopper. Dennis Hopper made his film debut in a small role.

The film was an attempt to portray the moral decay of American youth, critique parental style, and explore the differences and conflicts between generations. In this film's case, it was the Interbellum Generation vs the Silent Generation. The title was adopted from psychologist Robert M. Lindner's 1944 book, Rebel Without a Cause: The Hypnoanalysis of a Criminal Psychopath. The film itself does not make any references to Lindner's book in any way. Warner Bros. released the film on October 27, 1955, nearly a month after Dean's death in a car accident on September 30, 1955.

Over the years, the film has achieved landmark status for the performance of Dean, fresh from his Oscar-nominated role in East of Eden, in his most celebrated role. This was the only film of Dean's in which he received top billing. In 1990, Rebel Without a Cause was added to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant".[5][6]

  1. ^ Alan Bisbort (2010). Beatniks: A Guide to an American Subculture. Greenwood Press/ABC-CLIO. p. xxi. ISBN 978-0-313-36574-4.
  2. ^ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1956', Variety Weekly, January 2, 1957
  3. ^ Variety film review; October 26, 1955, page 6.
  4. ^ Harrison's Reports film review; October 22, 1955, page 170.
  5. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  6. ^ Gamarekian, Barbara (1990-10-19). "Library of Congress Adds 25 Titles to National Film Registry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-06.