American Rebel

Had the great pleasure of seeing "Rebel Without a Cause" in Hollywood yesterday. Gosh, what a great film! And it really is a different experience seeing it on the big screen, as was originally intended.

I had seen "Rebel" theatrically before, years ago at the Denver Film Festival, but that was nothing compared to the THX majesty that is the Arlight Cinerama Dome. That is the nicest movie theater I've ever been too. It takes movie-watching to a whole new level of gourmet pleasure! The theater has two full bars and a restaurant inside, and all the theaters are equipped with state-of-the-art, THX-certified sound and projection equipment. I saw "Star Wars Episode II" in digital projection last year at the Arclight and it was spectacular. I hope to see the newly restored version of Ridley Scott's "Alien" in digital projection this week at the Arclight.

This screening of "Rebel" was introduced by Frank Mazzola, who played "Crunch" (one of the gang members) in the film. In this photo from the film, he's the guy dead center with black hair, white shirt and jeans (you can also see baby-faced Dennis Hopper on the upper-left side). Frank told some stories about meeting Jimmy and hanging out with him during shooting. Besides acting in the film, Frank also served as technical advisor since he was himself involved in the Los Angeles gang scene at the time and director Nicholas Ray wanted the film to be as realistic as possible.

The film is extremely psychological for its day. There are tons of parenting issues and husband/wife issues presented in the story. The kids have every material desire fulfilled by their parents, but there's no real emotional intimacy between parents and children. It seems frighteningly parallel to the lives of young people I see today. There is also much symbolism in the film, both intentional to the story and ironically mirroring James Dean's life and untimley death.

My favorite scene is the first planetarium scene at Griffith Observatory. Dean's character, Jim Stark (an amalgam of Dean's own first name and his "East of Eden" character, "Cal Trask"), arrives late for the presentation just as the astronomy professor lectures the students about the arrival of "a new star, a brilliant star growing ever brighter in the heavens." The scene ends hilariously (unintentionally) as the professor concludes the presentation with a dramatic flash and explosion, accompanied by Leonard Rosenman's terrifying film score, as the Earth is incinerated during the Sun's fiery death. "In the vast expanse of the Universe," the Prof explains, "the Earth will not be missed. The lives of mankind are insignificant. That's all; thank you for your attention." I always want him to smile and say, "Have a nice day, kids! Have fun growing up!" :-)

One humorous aspect of the film, which I hadn't noticed quite as evidently on television, is the blatant homoerotic lust for James Dean exuding from Sal Mineo's "Plato." On the big screen, you can clearly see the light that shines in his eyes whenever he's near Jimmy. He's obviously completely in love with Jimmy and I don't think there was much acting going on there. It's quite sweet.

All of the acting is quite good, as Nicholas Ray smartly cast his actors as themselves and encouraged their improvisations in the scenes, especially the gang kids. Nick Ray was much older than the kids but he was regarded like a trusted older brother on set, much like the kind-hearted police lieutenant played by Edward Platt (famous later as The Chief on "Get Smart") who looks after Jim. The police lieutenant's name? Ray Fremick.

Jim Backus is excellent as Jimmy's immasculated father. The funniest and most poignant scene between them is after the knife fight at the Observatory when Jim wants his father's advice about the Chickie Run. Backus spends the whole scene in Mrs. Stark's flowery kitchen apron! He had been preparing dinner for his wife, but dropped the tray on the floor, spilling the contents. Jimmy scolds him for not "standing up" like a man to Jim's mom. His father's inability to "stand up" for Jim or himself is a recurring theme in the film.

There are so many great actors in the movie (Backus, Natalie Wood, Dennis Hopper) but the film clearly belongs to James Dean. Seeing it again after several years (I've seen it dozens of times before), I was struck by what a beautiful boy James Dean was. He's just gorgeous, and his presence radiates from the screen. His performance is the glue that binds the various subplots together. We see him exposing his most personal emotional issues (abandonment by his estranged father, his ambiguous sexuality, his sense of alienation, loneliness and ostracism) right there on the screen. It's an extraordinarily intimate performance, made ever more touching by Dean's tragic end just weeks before the film's premiere.

The most touching moment for me was at the end when Plato's been shot at the Observatory and Jimmy tearfully zips up his red jacket on Plato's lifeless body. "He was always cold," Jim chokes, before collapsing in a sobbing heap at his father's feet. I couldn't help tearing up a bit myself at that moment. It was such an honest moment.

"Rebel Without A Cause" is truly an American classic. I never get tired of watching it, no matter how many times I've seen it. Like "Casblanca" or "Citizen Kane" or even "Star Wars," it is a film that never gets old.