Jim Stark is the new kid in school. When during a field trip he provokes the "wheels" with his barnyard act ("Moooo!"), first day jitters quickly give way to a string of dangerous events leaving parents and police as frazzled as if The Blob had dropped.
In post-war, even winners face challenges in securing the peace. Jobs & shortages are the common conundrums, but in America a new problem emerged: troubled youth. "To the victor belong the spoils" AND the spoiled who'd too much leisure and loose cash. Idle hands touched off more than devilish deeds, they created confusion on mores and frustration for parents, teachers and cops who were caught unprepared when teen trouble surfaced. Warner Bros responded with Rebel, tabbing editor David Weisbart to produce, then up & comer Nicholas Ray to direct (Lusty Men) and writers Stew Stern & Irv Schulman who'd use Bob Lindner's book of the same title as their basis. It would prove the most famous of the kid noir, its star, James Dean, made poster boy, even after his fatal car crash pre-release, for greatness is not married to longevity.
The soul child of Frank & Carol Stark, Jim is a likeable enough lad, in contrast to aloof Johnny (Wild One) and Roy the Cosh Boy (53), yet, he doesn't fit in, anywhere, which keeps them on the move, his doting parents hoping their son can one day conform and all find peace. In truth, Jim's a walking disaster (See also; Eden), funny for a Keaton farce but here, his sensitive state ('Don't call me chicken!') makes him mark for the bullies, i.e., knife fights, crazy car action, anything ill-advised. Provided with possessions and permissibility, what Stark really needs is confidence, fostered on the structure and parental consistency he craves. Absent those, he turns to drink, drama ("You're tearing me apart!") and acts on impulse, but when Jim takes Plato (Mineo) & Judy (Wood) under his wings, he turns king of the misfits and cool as the North Pole. Troubled youth had been cast as cruel & beyond help, filmmaker's purpose to expose the problem and depict the punishment. Rebel would change all of that. On beveled themes, the tone turned sympathetic, parents now bearing some blame ("This is Judy, she's my friend"). The teen is still a pain in the neck, but now might listen, show pluck and, in Stark's case, have a sense of sarcasm ("I love you, too"), atypical traits for any age.
Co-stars Natalie Wood as the mystery harlot who misses dad's kisses; Sal Mineo is Plato, he lonely, too, "Jamie" & dad's gun standing in; Ann Doran & Jim Backus are the Starks, Edward Platt the detective as good with words as his fists and Corey Allen is Buzz, the boy boss who's smarter than he lets on but learns too late there are no returns when cloths kill (See; Red Shoes). Other players of note: San Fran début du siècle stage star Virginia Brissac is Granny Stark, Dennis Hopper, Nick Adams & Jack Grinnage fill out the leather jackets, in the shadows as Judy's Mom (+ Hopper), actress turned Allied spy (Mex 43), the beautiful Rochelle Hudson, Marietta Canty, an early Dietrich co-star is Plato's mothering maid ("poor baby got nobody") and Frank Mazzola is Crunch, the darkest hood ("shut your mouth before your guts run out"), yet, in reality, a bright mind, advising Ray on the race scene and knife fight, having run with the Athenians (LA), earlier a child extra (Hunchback) and finally a film editor (The Party).
Not a coming of age film as it's often tabbed, unless you think a day of misadventure is a step up to maturity (oy), Judy & Jim's new romance is sweet but hardly meets the wisdom threshold 'coming' requires. Rather, Rebel is one more in the shift to realism that begins in war (noir), delves deeper in post period (Twelve OClock) and by the 50s found its way into juvies where this one proved watershed. Not just a teen flick, Rebel was touchstone for parents, too, who were also struggling to find a balance and keep pace in a culture where change became the constant. The expressions of rebellion have changed (car clash & blades >> guns, drugs & tattoos), but its themes on peer pressure and parental angst still resonate. Filmed in striking CinemaScope® with pretty players, a darkly dramatic script and warm interlude at Desmond's deserted mansion, Warner's well budgeted feature ($1.5M) would introduce the concept of enablement in gild of the golden age for America's youth (outside Vietnam), the consumers that've captured every corporate board since the 2000s. And catch the charmburst at one-third in, just before Judy's jump start, when Jim pulls it out, her compact (scarfed at the station), to recall a merry moment from her movie Miracle (47): "Wanna see a monkey?"
'What if' always accompanies the Dean topic. Had he not died on US 466 that late September day in 1955, would he have followed trends or kept setting them into the 60s? He'd leads in three majors, acts highly praised: East of Eden (55) is a painful watch, Giant (56) well worth the time (200m), Jim showing a Texas-sized range, and Rebel, it his and director Nic's gem as one of the 50s best (3.5/4). Take me to your leader! The times have made classics un-cool to the favored market, but if a space Alien ever asks me for a list of toppers to view, this'll be one of 'em (3.5/4).
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