Word: jims
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...first day at school, Jim's class pays a visit to a planetarium, which the gang decides to make the scene for a little action. Buzzy, stereotyped black-jacketed levi leader of the mob, goads Jim into a switchblade duel. (Stark has a paranoic aversion to being called "chicken") But merely proving himself in this daytime version of kicks is not enough; society demands more...
That night the troops assemble on a bluff for a "chickie run." Jim doesn't see the point of the affair, but Buzzy reassures him. ("You gotta' do somethin', don't you?") Jim loses the race, but Buzzy loses a lot more when he can't get the door of his car open before it rolls over the cliff. Except for his loyal followers who decide to wreak revenge upon Jim, not too many are deeply disturbed by Buzzy's demise...
Meanwhile, Jim Stark has managed to make two friends for his cause, Plato (Sal Mineo) and Judy (Natalie Wood). Plato is the child product of the Age of Analysis with slightly psychopathic tendencies which provide for the movie's fast-moving finish. Natalie Wood provides the love interest...
...acting throughout Rebel is of the highest caliber, and Dean receives a great deal of support from Jim Backus as the pathetic father trying to fulfill his son's image of him. The family scene following the chickie run is a great example of high-pitched acting at its best...
Rebel Without a Cause has all the fatalistic qualities of a Greek drama combined with the twisted and decadent realism of a Tennessee Williams play. The plot of the movie largely depends upon the tragedy of misunderstanding; Jim Stark's parents misunderstand him; the same is true for Judy; Plato tries to forget his parents and adopts Jim as his father-image ("Why couldn't you have been my Dad?"); and, as usual, the police manage to misunderstand everyone...