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1955 Films, Coming-of-Age, Drama, Melodrama, Romantic Drama, Top 250 Films

Rebel Without a Cause-1955

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Rebel Without a Cause-1955

Director Nicholas Ray

Starring James Dean, Natalie Wood

Top 250 Films #112

Scott’s Review #885

Reviewed April 14, 2019

Grade: A

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is usually most associated with being the best-remembered film of star James Dean’s short-lived career. East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956) are his other notable films in a far too brief span of time.

With Rebel Without a Cause, Dean and underappreciated director Nicholas Ray crafted a story about teenage angst and rebellion that is brilliantly authentic and was the first of its kind to influence countless other films.

In Los Angeles, three teenagers meet and commiserate at the juvenile section of the police station, revealing their respective crimes.

Jim Stark (Dean) has been brought in for drunkenness and meets John “Plato” Crawford (Sal Mineo), who was brought in for killing a litter of puppies, and Judy (Natalie Wood), who was brought in for curfew violation.

All three suffer from problems at home and confide in one another. Their most profound revelations connect them and bond them for life.

To complicate matters, Jim is a new student and must endure the challenges that come with it, in addition to his troubled home life.

His main rival is Buzz Gunderson (Corey Allen), who challenges Jim to a knife fight and, finally, a deadly “Chickie Run” game.

This leads to Buzz’s death, which infuriates his gang, who mistakenly assume that Jim ratted them off to the cops. This puts a target on Jim’s back as he slowly falls in love with Judy and develops a deep friendship with Sal, who idolizes him.

One key to the success of Rebel Without a Cause is in the casting. Dean, rebellious in real life and the roles he portrayed, chews up each scene he appears in.

The famous scene in which Jim quarrels with his father (Jim Backus) culminates in a dramatic emotional unraveling and an exclamation of “You’re tearing me apart!” as his blind-sided parents bicker over how best to handle the situation.

Dean is a pivotal reason for the film’s success and landmark status.

Wood infuses her character, Judy, with poignancy and a calm demeanor. Judy is a good kid who behaves wildly out of frustration over her inability to communicate with her deliberately distant father (William Hopper).

Finally, Plato (Mineo), who is so sensitive that he threatens to break apart at the seams, has taken to killing puppies as a desperate cry for attention from his wealthy, always absent parents.

Wood and Mineo support the film brilliantly.

Jim and Judy are likable as a pair from opposite sides of the tracks, another influential aspect of the film that became commonplace in oodles of entertainment genres over the years.

Good Girl meets Bad Boy is dangerous, tender, and filled with story possibilities.

It is implied that Plato is in love with Jim, but in 1955, films were meticulous about pushing the envelope much further than an implication when it came to homosexuality.

Rumors ran rampant that Dean and director Ray had a torrid love affair off-screen.

Another positive is that the film is told within twenty-four hours, providing excellent pacing and an action-packed emotional punch.

The best scenes occur at night, especially the deadly car race, and the fantastic conclusion takes place in the old, deserted mansion that the trio of friends claims as their sanctuary.

The tragic ending is sure to bring a tear or two to anyone who watches and is entranced by the event’s decisive finality.

Watching the film today, one must appreciate the enormous influence Rebel Without a Cause has had.

Some classics that succeeded Rebel and stand out on their own include American Graffiti (1973), The Breakfast Club (1985), and even West Side Story (1961), which also starred Natalie Wood.

Each is riddled with teenage angst, hormones, and elevated emotions, and all contain a seriousness and a depth all their own.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is a film that should be viewed and revisited for more than just the prominent and impressive story it tells.

The film is well directed and speaks to a generation of unruly, angry teenagers, giving them a much-needed voice. It is fraught with emotion and balance, offering current and future generations of teenagers lessons to learn from.

Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture Story, Best Supporting Actor-Sal Mineo, Best Supporting Actress-Natalie Wood

Golden Globe Nominations: 1 win-New Star of the Year-Actress-Natalie Wood (won)

1939 Films, Drama

The Old Maid-1939

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The Old Maid-1939

Director Edmund Goulding

Starring Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins

Scott’s Review #883

Reviewed April 3, 2019

Grade: B-

Not one to dare criticize the legendary Bette Davis (would there be much to criticize anyway?), her starring turn in The Old Maid (1939) is not one of her best-remembered films through no fault of her own.

With compelling characters and a nice flow to a short one-hour and thirty-five-minute experience, the films suffer from too much melodrama and soap opera style overacting to warrant a sturdy recommendation.

The overwrought drama may have been riveting at the time of release, but now feels dated and dusty.

Davis portrays Charlotte, a modestly attractive young woman living in Philadelphia during the Civil War era. When her cousin Delia (Miriam Hopkins) discards her beau Clem Spender (George Brent) in favor of marrying another well-to-do man, Charlotte and Clem begin an affair that results in the birth of baby Tina.

When Clem is killed in battle, Charlotte opens a home for orphans as a way of hiding Tina’s illegitimacy.

As the years go by, Delia’s scheming results in Tina not knowing her birth mother, and Charlotte suffers away like an old maid yearning to confess the truth to Tina before the young woman marries.

The film’s highlight naturally is Ms. Davis, as she makes her character’s plight emotional and sympathetic.

Especially in 1939, the character is written as a strong and intelligent female with a will of her own. Davis portrays all qualities with passion and gusto, only adding to the perplexing, wishy-washy indecisiveness of the character.

Why does Charlotte go year after year, living under the same roof with her daughter but under the constant guise of only being her aunt and allowing Delia the title of the mother?

Charlotte is supposed to ensure that Tina receives a proper, upper-middle-class, respectable upbringing while being a part of her life.

The film does wonders to portray the roles of aunt and mother as opposites. As a teenager, Tina praises Delia while considering Charlotte matronly and dull as dishwater due to her overbearing and militant respect for rigidity.

Regardless, many facets of the story seem like plot setups to create drama and story points leading to vendettas and reoccurring conflict between Delia and Charlotte.

The fact that Charlotte is so strong and stoic on the surface is also a detraction as the audience is left frustrated over and over at the cousin’s decision not to tell the truth to Tina until the final scene when she is marrying a rich boy and even then, the scene is a disappointment.

The decision for Delia to adopt Tina at the age of twenty to finally allow her respectability and her fiancee’s parents’ approval is weak and story-dictated. The filmmaker attempts never to enable Charlotte any happiness or satisfaction, which is depressing, especially given Davis’s brash personality.

Despite the story issues, The Old Maid has some positives, including a well-dressed set and gorgeous costumes, as wedding after wedding occurs over the film’s twenty-year run.

The aging of the characters is also successfully done, specifically with Davis, as she goes from an impressionable youngster to graying and haggard over the years with good lighting and camera angles.

The Old Maid (1939) is a film of moderate interest as it includes some well-developed characters and a subject matter that might have been daring for the time.

The film, decades later, has a conventional slant and too many story plot setups better served for daytime television. The overall result is a too soapy style for much enjoyment but is saved by the graceful and powerful acting of Bette Davis, easily the best thing about the film.