Lessons from ‘Rebel Without a Cause’

You getting caught up on your movies and TV series? Yeah, me too. One classic film worth revisiting is ‘Rebel Without A Cause”, which I started watching just to see Jim Stark’s ’49 Mercury coupe again. Then I got sucked into staying for the whole movie. Most mid 50s teen dramas do not hold up so well by today’s cinematic standards. But when you’re talking about James Dean & Natalie Wood at their peak of exuberance and talent, not to mention a stellar supporting cast including Sal Mineo and Jim Backus (and the first major movie role for Dennis Hopper), it just holds up. Dean dying in the infamous ‘Lil Bastard’ Porsche 550 Spyder crash before the movie’s release only cemented his legacy further.

Watch ‘Rebel’ again for the cars too… The Chicken scene when all the cars line up along the edge of the cliff; Lots of sweet rides in there: Chopped ’40 Ford coupe, ’34 Roadster, etc. Oh yeah, here’s the lesson: Don’t wear one of those leather biker jackets with cuff straps. It’s a poor wardrobe choice if you have to bail out of your jalopy.