Rebel Without a Cause

Name: Rebel Without a Cause
Genre: Drama
Released: October 29, 1955
Duration: 111 min
Rating: 89
Cast: Ann Doran, Corey Allen, Dennis Hopper, Edward Platt, James Dean

1955

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 19 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 49 Ratings

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7.6

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7.6	Your Score
7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 49 Ratings

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Rebel Without A Cause

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Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. | Release Date: October 29, 1955 | TV-PG

Starring: Ann Doran, Corey Allen, Dennis Hopper, Edward Platt, James Dean, Jim Backus, Natalie Wood, Rochelle Hudson, Sal Mineo, William Hopper

Summary: A rebellious young man (James Dean) with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.

Director: Nicholas Ray

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: TV-PG

Runtime: 111 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Roger Ebert

A milestone in the creation of new idea about young people. Read full review

100

Dave Kehr

Dean's alienation is perfectly expressed through Ray's vertiginous mise-en-scene: the suburban LA setting becomes a land of decaying Formica and gothic split-levels. An unmissable film, made with a delirious compassion. Read full review

100

Dan Callahan

Where the attitudes of "East of Eden" are hopelessly dated and broad, the poetic longing for connection in Rebel Without a Cause will always feel timeless. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

In this powerful study of juvenile violence, Dean is riveting as a teenager groping for love from a society he finds alien and oppressive. Read full review

Jack Moffitt

It contains some extraordinarily good acting by the late James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo (who is coming up fast and reveals himself to be a real trouper in this one). The direction by Nicholas Ray is outstanding...This is a superficial treatment of a vital problem that has been staged brilliantly. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

There is some stuffy, faintly reactionary stuff in this famed 1955 teen drama, but James Dean is truly extraordinary, and it has some brilliant scenes Read full review

Pauline Kael

[A] generation-gap soap opera of the 50s, which had more emotional resonance for the teenagers of the time than many much better movies.

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User Reviews

DavCastaneda

May 30, 2020

A well-executed movie and a totally relevant plot, even in our days.
Rebel Without a Cause is a sad movie that show us that a not understood character may be relevant not to their parents, the people they love, or even themselves, but just to an audience in a theatre.
When we get that, weA well-executed movie and a totally relevant plot, even in our days.
Rebel Without a Cause is a sad movie that show us that a not understood character may be relevant not to their parents, the people they love, or even themselves, but just to an audience in a theatre.
When we get that, we care about the characters.

I Don't get people saying this is really bad, I think they should take another look at it.

If this movie is so trivial - as the teenagers problems - as most people say, well, we probably will forget it in ten years from now (and like my teenage problems, I don't think so).… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Gamzguy17

Aug 21, 2021

It may be on the melodramatic side and the teenagers are more like intellectual adults than delinquents, but 'Rebel Without a Cause' uses its smarts and James Dean's Marlon Brando-esque performance to deliver an indelibly youthful stamp onto the pop culture for decades to come. Watching itIt may be on the melodramatic side and the teenagers are more like intellectual adults than delinquents, but 'Rebel Without a Cause' uses its smarts and James Dean's Marlon Brando-esque performance to deliver an indelibly youthful stamp onto the pop culture for decades to come. Watching it today is still an inspiring experience for filmmakers and artists alike.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

KelvinSelimor

Nov 22, 2021

Rebel Without a Cause. Ability to listen, not hear. Excellent display of all the moral of the film. The conflict between father and son and whose other son everyone abandoned, and both of them wanted only love and to be understood.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Onlyclassicvg1

Sep 26, 2022

The movie film is a government assigned project to broaden and enlight people and glory of nation. Cultural learning is emportant to follow on global basis. We make our nation a better and more convenient place for house and living. Kazakhs are progressive and asstonishing people that withThe movie film is a government assigned project to broaden and enlight people and glory of nation. Cultural learning is emportant to follow on global basis. We make our nation a better and more convenient place for house and living. Kazakhs are progressive and asstonishing people that with conclusion of project will have new optimistic… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ahmedaiman9999

Aug 12, 2018

Wasting this review in praising the magnetic performances from the leads, James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo, or the exceptional chemistry between them, would be an insult to this brilliant piece of work. All I can say about what Nicholas Ray achieved in this film that he created aWasting this review in praising the magnetic performances from the leads, James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo, or the exceptional chemistry between them, would be an insult to this brilliant piece of work. All I can say about what Nicholas Ray achieved in this film that he created a dystopian parallel world where all teenagers are completely devastated because of their dysfunctional families. But you can almost completely relate to all the characters, and that's because Ray used the stereotypical forms to make how his teenager characters look on the surface. For instance, you can see how they bully each other in the most typical way, and that's why when you will reach the end of the first act, you might think that some things and some small details haven't aged well in this movie, while it's not exactly the case. In fact, when you finish watching this movie you may think that it's actually ahead of its time!

The major three characters have motivations that were, and still, unprecedented. Above that, they are three-dimensional characters, and fully fleshed-out that can be studied. Of course, Stewart Stern's screenplay is one of the main reasons for bringing these characters to life. He gave them some incredible lines that should be described as jaw-dropping, to say the least! Because my jaw literally dropped every time Jim Stark try to interact with his father, not to mention a couple other times. have kept repeating: THIS IS GENIUS! The adult characters are intentionally dull to serve the movie's plot, but that doesn't mean that the actors who portray them should give a dull performances. I really found almost every actor/actress' acting who play the dad or mom is very poor and monotonous, despite how great their characters are written. Also, the editing in this movie could be the worst editing I've ever seen in film. The jump-cuts between one scene to another are unbelievably terrible. You have to see it to believe how bad is it!

Rebel Without a Cause will never age because it doesn't present the '50s juvenile attitude per se, but instead it shows us how the juvenile would behave if their parents' issues have a great, and more dangerous effect on them. Still don't know how on earth James Dean didn't get an Oscar nod for this role, though!

(8.5/10)… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Compi24

Jul 24, 2019

A film that I consider a far more successful piece of American culture than a totally successful film overall, it's clear to me that "Rebel Without A Cause's" reputation may have preceded it a bit. That's not to say it's a bad film in any regard -- quite the contrary, in fact -- but it isA film that I consider a far more successful piece of American culture than a totally successful film overall, it's clear to me that "Rebel Without A Cause's" reputation may have preceded it a bit. That's not to say it's a bad film in any regard -- quite the contrary, in fact -- but it is one that everyone will remember (and should remember) for its cultural significance more than its total cinematic worth. Think about the era in which this was released. The household was such a rigid thing, where children were meant to be seen and not heard. Physical and sometimes sexual domestic abuse were things for a community to either forget or turn a blind eye to. And the power dynamics of the home were all too often neglected, warped, or aggrandized to a harmful degree. It was a different time. It must've taken some real audacity and courage for Nicholas Ray to bring a story like this to the forefront of American culture. Tack on the additional, metaphorical weight of this film being the first posthumous release for the late, great James Dean and you're really playing with fire. Again, it's unforgettable, but for me, the reasons why are more intangible than I expected.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

royalguy07

Apr 4, 2023

James Dean was cool, this movie is ok as a teenage film about searching for meaning and coming of age.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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