I'm going to go out on the unpopular limb here and say that the reason Rebel Without a Cause is such an iconic movie is because of the tragic death of James Dean just before the film was released. It's not that great of a movie. The story seems thrown together, the characters are difficult to relate to and the young actors, especially James Dean, are overly dramatic and chew the scenery at every opportunity. That's right, I'm a bad boy 'cause I don't really like this classic film.

Trending picture about maladjusted teenagers excellently directed by Nicholas Ray , being his most popular and influential film . A rebellious adolescent named Jim Stark (James Dean) with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies. He is alienated from both his peers and parents (Anna Doran , Jim Backus) . He finds underdog youth as Plato (Sal Mineo) and Judy (Natalie Wood , to whom Ray was rumored to have made advances) in a Police Station and soon later they befriend turning into three outcast friends .

Good film dealing with adolescence problems from the 50s , being magnificent played by a group of splendid young men . Many memorable set-pieces , including the ¨chickie run¨ between James Dean and black leather-jacketed Corey Allen . James Dean's most important screen appearance in the second of his three movies , following ¨East of Eden¨ and his final was ¨Giant¨. Director Ray touches upon his favorite theme: two lovers searching for a quiet place to live in peace that also used in former picture titled "Lovers of the Night (1945)", one of his few totally controlled pieces of work . Awesome support cast formed by newcomers who would have an acceptable and uneven career as Dennis Hooper , Corey Allen , Nick Adams and special mention to Sal Mineo as lone and feeble Plato . Ray, screenwriter Stewart Stern, costar James Dean, and Sal Mineo himself all intended for Mineo's character Plato to be subtly but definitely understood as gay , although the Production Code was still very much in force and forbade any mention of homosexuality, all worked together to insert restrained references to Plato's homosexuality and attraction to Jim, including the pinup photo of Alan Ladd on Plato's locker door, Plato's adoring looks at Jim, his loaded talk with Jim in the old mansion, and even the name "Plato," which is a reference to the Classical Greek philosopher ; for that mansion scene, Dean suggested to Mineo that Plato should "look at me the way I look at Natalie." Furthermore , the film packs a colorful and glimmer cinematography in Technicolor by Ernest Haller . Moving as well as thrilling musical score by Leonard Rosenman .

The motion picture was very well directed by Nicholas Ray who researched L. A. gangs by riding around with them for several nights. In September of 1954, Ray wrote a treatment to "The Blind Run," about three troubled adolescents who create a new family in each other. This would form the basis for this picture . After some re-writes, Ray started shopping for a lead actor. After a trip to the Strasberg Institute in New York proved fruitless, he learned that Elia Kazan had recently discovered a New York stage actor for his latest film, but he wasn't recommending him; even after Ray saw a rough cut of this actor's latest film he still wasn't sure. It was only when Ray met 24 year old James Dean at a party did he realize that this hot new talent would be perfect for the role of Jim Stark, a troubled youth whose world is unraveled in a 24-hour period. Ray and Dean formed a very close bond during filming, with Ray allowing Dean to improvise and even direct to his liking. The rest of the cast came together with the talents of two fifteen-year-old : Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo; as well as smaller roles, which Ray cast based on weeks of bizarre, improvised auditions as well as interviews with the actors. The three superb young stars carry this in-the-gut tale of teens . However , all three leads met with real-life tragic end , Dean dead by a car crash , Natalie by drowning and Mineo was killed . Filming was a wild ride, but it paid off; Mineo and Wood were both Oscar-nominated in the supporting acting categories, and Ray received his only Oscar nomination, for the screenplay. Ray and Dean planned to make more movies after this, but Dean's death would never make that possible, and at least they left movie audiences with one great film. Rating : two thumbs up , extraordinary , top-drawer material . Indispensable and essential watching this classic movie .

Like many teen movies of the age, most of the disaffected teens in the film are old enough to start thinking about social security! Dean is 24 and a few of the tough thugs are clearly about 25-30! You just have to ignore this, as this was the norm for juvenile delinquent films of the 50s. Plus, at least Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo were teenagers! While the opening scene involving James Dean was pretty famous, the part of the film that struck me in the first few minutes of the film was not Dean but when Mineo was being interviewed by the Police. Apparently, for kicks, he'd been out shooting puppies!!! Wow...now that's pretty cold and this small scene, for me, overshadowed Dean's performance in the police station--though Dean was good as the angry, hurt teen. Puppies...that boy was crazy! And, in fact, I found Mineo's character the most interesting throughout the film--with a strong gay subtext (it sure seems to be there in spades).

As far as Dean's anger and rebelliousness, it soon becomes obvious in the police station that his parents were much of the problem. While it's often too easy to blame parents (and very typical for psychologists of this time), in this case this is at least a large part of the problem. The parents don't agree about anything--there is a nosy grandmother who needs to butt out and the father (Jim Backus) seems much more concerned with making excuses and being his son's pal than being a parent. And, in many ways, the parents seem to be in denial as the police send him home. And, in many ways, the film seems like a great example of the Oedipal Complex in a modern American family.

A weird part of the film is Natalie Wood and the very, very disturbed relationship with her father (William Hopper). While not explicitly stated, it sure seemed as if there was sexual tension boiling within her Dad. He pushes her away and is nasty with her as a result of these unacceptable impulses! Pretty sick stuff! And, speaking of sick stuff, Backus' problems seem far deeper than trying to be his son's friend. He is a walking caricature of a castrated man--with a mother who dominates him and a wife and son who don't respect him. The image of seeing Backus running around the house wearing a very frilly women's apron sure drove that point home! With both Backus and Hopper, it sure seemed as if the writers had consulted with some Freudian psychoanalysts!! Later in the film, I halfway expected to see everyone sitting around eating hot dogs.

The rest of the film is the usual stuff you might expect to see in any rebellious teenagers film but with a few exceptions. The biggest difference is that most of the films in this genre were ultra-cheap films made with horrible production values. "Rebel Without a Cause" is a larger budget film made by Warner Brothers--not some two-bit studio. In addition, there are many great moments that stick in your mind that you just would never find in a typical film of this type--such as the crazy scene where Dean and the gang leader play Chicken on the edge of a cliff, Sal Mineo's pink frilly bedroom, the knife fight, the confrontation at the old house and observatory, etcetera. This is a very well-made and entertaining film from start to finish and clearly the best in the glutted genre (boy, did they make a LOT of these sort of movies). Excellent acting and direction throughout.