Directed by Nicholas Ray and screenplay by Stewart Stern from a story by Ray with adaptation by Irving Shulman, Rebel Without a Cause is the story of a teenager who arrives to a new town as he has trouble with his new environment where he often encounters trouble. The film is a look into a troubled young man as he deals with his own conflicts with his parents, ideals, and all sorts of things while trying to find himself. Starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Dennis Hopper, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, and William Hopper. Rebel Without a Cause is a riveting and evocative film from Nicholas Ray.
The film follows the day in the life of a young man who had just moved to a new town where he finds himself getting in trouble as he’s being challenged to a chicken race while dealing with his own family life believing his parents don’t understand his anguish. It plays into this man who isn’t just dealing with the fact that he couldn’t do the right things but often keeps doing things the wrong way as he’s targeted by other kids who would get him into trouble. Stewart Stern’s screenplay doesn’t just follow the trouble that the film’s protagonist Jim Stark (James Dean) goes through during the course of the day but also a couple of other young teens who would be at a police precinct like Stark late at night. Judy (Natalie Wood) is a teenager who is picked up by the police for breaking curfew as she claims to be unloved by her father who says awful things to her while John “Plato” Crawford (Sal Mineo) was taken to the police for shooting puppies with his mother’s gun as both of his parents aren’t home.
Stark is a young man that lives in a somewhat dysfunctional home as his father Frank (Jim Backus) is often more concerned with wanting to be his buddy rather than be a father while his mother Carol (Ann Doran) is always upset over what her son does and often feels the best solution is to move to another town. It’s a pattern that becomes too common for Stark as he has just arrived to Los Angeles unsure of what to do and who to socialize with. Especially when Judy’s boyfriend Buzz Gunderson (Corey Allen) notices him and decides to push him around leading to a chicken race with cars where things don’t go well at all. Even as Stark is convinced that he’s cursed though he is able to get some sympathy early in the film from Inspector Ray Fremick (Edward Platt) who got to see up close what Stark’s parents are like as he offers to help him.
Nicholas Ray’s direction is definitely ravishing for the way he captures the life of a troubled teenager in Los Angeles where the film is shot on location though the school that Stark and others attend is shot on location in Santa Monica, California. Ray’s direction through the usage of the Cinemascope widescreen format allows him to take great usage of the wide shots of the locations including a few key scenes at the Griffith Observatory that would play in a scene where Stark is confronted by Gunderson and his gang and the film’s climax. Yet, Ray would emphasize on medium shots and close-ups including some unique compositions that play into the struggles of Stark, Judy, and Plato in the film’s sequence at the police precinct. Ray’s would shoot someone like Plato meeting Inspector Fremick in a medium shot in the foreground while Stark is seen in the background as it’s among these unique visuals that Ray would create along with scenes at home with some stylish camera angles to play into Stark’s anguish over his parents’ inability to help him.
Ray would also create these moments of intrigue in the compositions as it relates to how Plato looks at Stark that definitely provides subtle ideas that Plato is gay as it was considered taboo during the 1950s in which the film was made and set in. The sense of drama that happens for much of the film has Ray create some carefully crafted compositions in the way he positions his actors but also play into moments that are intense such as the aftermath of the chicken race. The film’s climax which relates to Gunderson’s gang trying to find Stark as well as Plato add to the sense of heightened drama as well as this chance of Stark to try and bring some kind of meaning to his life in helping Plato. Overall, Ray crafts a rapturous and exhilarating film about a young man’s search for meaning in his young teenage life.
Cinematographer Ernest Haller does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of vibrant colors from the way much of the daytime exterior scenes look to the interior scene set at the Griffith Observatory as well as how the colors appear in the Cinemascope film format. Editor William H. Ziegler does excellent work with the editing as it help play into some of the dramatic tension as well as bits of the suspense during the chicken race scene. Art director Malcolm C. Bert and set decorator William Wallace does fantastic work with the interiors of the Stark family home as well as the homes of Judy and Plato and the abandoned mansion that Plato mentioned nearby the Griffith Observatory.
Costume designer Moss Mabry does amazing work with the costumes from the red jacket Stark would wear for the film’s second half as well as the clothes that Gunderson and his gang wore as well as the dresses that Judy wore throughout the film. The sound work of Stanley Jones is terrific for its natural approach to sound as well as a few sound effects that play into moments in the drama. The film’s music by Leonard Rosenman is incredible for its somber yet soaring orchestral score that help heighten the drama as well as the anguish from Stark, Judy, and Plato in their home lives.
The film’s wonderful cast include some notable small roles from Ian Wolfe as the astronomy professor Dr. Minton, Frank Mazzola and Jack Grinnage as a couple of Gunderson’s goons in their respective roles in Crunch and Moose, Virginia Brissac as Stark’s grandmother, Marietta Canty as Plato’s family maid who is concerned for his well-being, William Hopper and Rochelle Hudson as Judy’s parents, Dennis Hopper as a member of Gunderson’s gang in Goon, and Edward Platt in a superb performance as Inspector Ray Fremick as a sympathetic police official who is trying to understand the anguish and angst of Stark, Judy, and Plato in the film’s precinct sequence as he interrogates all three of them individually early in the film. Corey Allen is terrific as Buzz Gunderson as Judy’s boyfriend who is also the head of a high school gang that wants to push Stark around though he also shows a sensitive side just before the chicken race knowing that he doesn’t want to kill anyone.
Jim Backus and Ann Doran are fantastic in their respective roles as Stark’s parents in Frank and Carol Stark as a couple who have a hard time trying to understand their son with Frank wanting to help but be more of a friend while Carol is a more stern and not wanting to confront the real issues at hand. Sal Mineo is brilliant as John “Plato” Crawford as a young man who is sensitive and lost due to not having his parents around as he finds a sense of companionship in Stark where he subtly provides ideas of homosexuality in his fascination toward Stark. Natalie Wood is amazing as Judy as a young woman who feels unloved by her father as well as unsure of what to do as she hangs out with Buzz for companionship only to become fascinated by Stark whom she would fall for. Finally, there’s James Dean in a tremendous performance as Jim Stark as this young man that is dealing with uncertainty about himself and his family where Dean displays a mixture of anguish and charm into a role that is definitely an iconic performance in cinema.
Rebel Without a Cause is an outstanding film from Nicholas Ray that features great performances from James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo. Along with its gorgeous visuals, a superb ensemble cast, a mesmerizing script, and a sweeping orchestral score. It’s a film that play into the world of teen angst and uncertainty told in the span of a day in the eyes of a young man that doesn’t feel like he belongs anywhere in the world. In the end, Rebel Without a Cause is a magnificent film from Nicholas Ray.
Nicholas Ray Films: (They Live By Night) – (Knock on Any Door) – (A Woman’s Secret) – In a Lonely Place - (Born to Be Bad) – (Flying Leathernecks) – (On Dangerous Ground) – (The Lusty Men) – Johnny Guitar - (Run for Cover) – (Hot Blood) – (Bigger Than Life) – (The True Story of Jesse James) – (Bitter Victory) – (Wind Across the Everglades) – (Party Girl (1958 film)) – (The Savage Innocents) – (King of Kings) – (55 Days at Peking) – (We Can’t Go Home Again) – (Lightning Over Water)
© thevoid99 2018
Based on the novel The Last Frontier by Howard Fast, Cheyenne Autumn is the story of a cavalry captain who reluctantly takes part on a mission to track down a tribe of migrating Cheyenne. Directed by John Ford and screenplay by James R. Webb with contributions from Mari Sandoz, the film is Ford’s final western as it play into a man being forced to take down a Native American tribe as it play as an elegy for the West and for Native Americans who had been mistreated by the American government. Starring Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Ricardo Montalban, Gilbert Roland, Sal Mineo, Dolores del Rio, Edward G. Robinson, Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy, and James Stewart as Wyatt Earp. Cheyenne Autumn is a majestic and sprawling film from John Ford.
Set in the late 19th Century, the film is based on the real-life Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878-1879 where a group of Cheyenne decide to leave their reservation in the Oklahoma Territory to return to their homeland in Wyoming due to a promise that wasn’t fulfilled by the U.S. government. It plays into this cavalry officer who is order to pursue a tribe of migrating Cheyenne and take them back to the reservation as he doesn’t want to harm them but knows the mission is futile. Adding to this in this pursuit is then Secretary of the Interior in Carl Schurz (Edward G. Robinson) who trying to prevent violence happening while some in the press are spreading lies into what the Cheyenne has done when the reality is that the death toll of soldiers were actually small. James R. Webb’s screenplay is largely told from the perspective of Captain Thomas Archer (Richard Widmark) who talks about his pursuit as well as wanting to keep the peace knowing that he’s tried to help the Cheyenne anyway he can and was angry that a meeting between a major government official and the Cheyenne didn’t take place because the former didn’t keep his promise.
Captain Archer tries to ensure two of its chiefs in Little Wolf (Ricardo Montalban) and Dull Knife (Gilbert Roland) to stay in the reservation despite its poor condition so he can reach out and give the Cheyenne what they want. With their head chief in poor health, Little Wolf and Dull Knife make the decision to return to Wyoming as they’re aided by the schoolteacher Deborah Wright (Carroll Baker) who is concerned for the children as the Cheyenne allow her to travel with them. Wright is Captain Archer’s lover as he would learn that she had fled with the Cheyenne making his reluctant pursuit personal as well as wanting to ensure that no harm comes to her. The film also showcase others encountering the Cheyenne including Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday (Arthur Kennedy) in a comedic moment in the film as it play into this exaggeration of the press. Much of the film’s second half is about this divergence between Little Wolf and Dull Knife over their journey with the latter seeking shelter where things don’t go according to plan which angers Captain Archer and Wright forcing the former to turn to Schurz for help.
John Ford’s direction is definitely grand for the way he captures the world of the American West as it is shot largely on Monument Valley at the Arizona-Utah Border to play into not just some of the desolation of the location but also into a world that is ever-changing. Ford’s usage of the locations has him use a lot of wide shots with some precise compositions such as the scene of the Cheyenne waiting for the government official as they remain still with Captain Archer and his superior waiting as they would learn that the man won’t show up prompting the Cheyenne to leave. Ford’s usage of the wide shots doesn’t just play into the beauty of these locations but also in how vast the number of the Cheyenne as well as Captain Archer’s troops who are trying to pursue the Cheyenne but don’t want to create any conflict that could get both parties killed. The attention to detail in the compositions says a lot of what Ford wanted to say about the West and its mistreatment towards Natives including the Cheyenne.
While there are some intimate moments in the close-ups and medium shots that include a brief detour in a scene at a small town where Earp and Holliday are first seen playing cards and then get involved in a scuffle with the Cheyenne that is a comical moment in the film. It’s a scene that does seem out of place but it does play into this air of exaggeration the press will make in order to stir trouble and sell newspapers though there is a scene of one newspaper that wants to tell the truth. It all play into Ford’s need to have the Natives tell their side of the story as well as their mistrust towards whites with the latter wanting to make amends for their past sins. Though the eventual meeting between Schurz and the Cheyenne chiefs is presented in an awkward backdrop, it is a key moment that would create a step forward into a peaceful settlement between the Cheyenne and the American government. Overall, Ford crafts an evocative and mesmerizing film about the real life Northern Cheyenne Exodus.
Cinematographer William H. Clothier does brilliant work with the film’s Technicolor cinematography as it captures the beauty of the locations as well as the great attention to detail for many of the colors including some of the interior lighting for scenes set at night. Editor Otho Lovering, with additional work by David Hawkins, does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward to play into the action and suspense. Art director Richard Day and set decorator Darrell Silvera do amazing work with the look of the town where Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday were playing poker as well as the look of some of the cavalry forts. Costume designers Frank Beetson Jr. and Ann Peck do fantastic work with the costumes for the look of the cavalry uniforms and the lavish clothes for the people at the small town as well as clothes of the Cheyenne. The sound work of Francis E. Stahl is terrific for its natural approach to sound as well as the way it captures gunfire and war drums from afar. The film’s music by Alex North is wonderful for its sweeping orchestral score that play into the sense of adventure and suspense along with the usage of percussions for some of the bombast as well as low-key moments for the drama.
The film’s superb ensemble cast include some notable small roles and appearances from Judson Pratt as a mayor, George O’Brien as Captain Archer’s superior Major Braden, Sean McClory as the fort doctor O’Carberry who tends to a young Cheyenne girl, Mike Mazurki as 1st Sergeant Stanislus Wichowsky who helps out Captain Archer later in the film, John Carradine as Major Jeff Blair who plays poker with Earp and Holliday, Elizabeth Allen as a woman trying to flirt with Earp, and Patrick Wayne as 2nd Lieutenant Scott as a young cavalry officer eager to kill some Cheyenne yet has to endure some humility.
James Stewart and Arthur Kennedy are terrific in their brief appearances in their respective roles as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday with the two legends who provide some humor in their roles but also prove to be capable badasses that no one should mess with. Dolores del Rio is terrific in a small role as Spanish Woman as a Cheyenne who is a liaison for the Cheyenne and Wright as she sees good intentions in Wright but also know there is trouble going on. Sal Mineo is wonderful as Red Shirt as the son of a chief who has immense disdain towards the white people as he would often get the Cheyenne into danger while he pines for a chief’s wife. Karl Malden is fantastic as Captain Oscar Wessels as a cavalry fort captain who takes in a portion of the Cheyenne for shelter until he is given the order to take them back to their reservation as tries to instill his idea of order.
Ricardo Montalban and Gilbert Roland are excellent in their respective roles as Little Wolf and Dull Knife as two Cheyenne chiefs who both share the same views about White people only to diverge over ideas of survival as they would both struggle to maintain their friendship. Edward G. Robinson is brilliant as Carl Schurz as the then-Secretary of the Interior who is trying to maintain some order as well as securing a peaceful resolution with the Cheyenne as well as discredit any kind of news that puts them in a bad light. Carroll Baker is amazing as Deborah Wright as a Quaker schoolteacher who joins the exodus to watch over the children and help them as she deals with the troubles of the journey. Finally, there’s Richard Widmark in an incredible performance as Captain Thomas Archer as a cavalry officer who is trying to ensure a peaceful resolution with the Cheyenne as he reluctantly pursues them where he becomes aware of Wright with them as he tries to ensure that he and his troops don’t kill anyone.
Cheyenne Autumn is a remarkable film from John Ford. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, an exhilarating film score, amazing action, and a compelling story. The film is definitely one of Ford’s finest westerns as well as a touching elegy to Native Americans who were often depicted in an unkind light in the genre. In the end, Cheyenne Autumn is a marvelous film from John Ford.
© thevoid99 2018
Based on the novel by Edna Farber, Giant is the story of a ranching family in Texas who endure changing times to protect their land while dealing with an ambitious ranch hand who strikes it rich with oil. Directed by George Stevens and screenplay by Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat, the film is a sprawling tale of the life of a family who endure many different things including social, racial, and personal issues that would shape their fortune. Starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Carroll Baker, Jane Withers, Chill Wills, Mercedes McCambridge, Dennis Hopper, Sal Mineo, Rod Taylor, Elsa Cardenas, and Earl Holliman. Giant is a grand yet evocative film from George Stevens.
The film follows the life a family of ranchers in Texas from the early 1920s to the mid-1950s where a rancher marries a woman from Maryland and brings her home where she copes with her new life and her own ideals while they both deal with an ambitious ranch hand who inherits land that is filled with oil. It’s a film that is about not just ambition but also the definition of success and how a rancher is trying to maintain his own ideas and morals for many years as he also contend with changing times and fortunes. The film’s screenplay by Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat is definitely sprawling in terms of the way the times are set as it begins around the early 20th Century in Maryland where Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson) goes to the state to buy a new horse. He ends up returning to Texas with a new wife in Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor) who falls for Bick in their initial meeting as she adjust to her new environment as well as try to fit in with the new world.
The script does have a simple three-act structure as the first act is about Leslie in her new environment where she has to contend with Bick’s sister Luz (Mercedes McCambridge), the way things are in Texas as well as the role of women, and the racial divide between the rich, white ranchers and the poor Mexican-Americans who live near by in near-poverty. The second act is about the growth of Bick and Leslie’s family but also what Bick’s former ranch hand in Jett Rink (James Dean) would discover from land he inherits from Luz as he would become rich and later overwhelm the Benedicts with his oil empire. It’s around the same time that Bick’s morals and his ideas of what he wants would come to ahead in changes as his son Jordan II (Dennis Hopper) doesn’t want to take over the family business. The third act is about the decisions that Bick and Leslie’s children would take such as daughters Judy (Fran Bennett) and the youngest in Luz II (Carroll Baker) would take but also tragedy relating to the family and the decision Jordan II would make in marrying a Mexican-American in Juana (Elsa Cardenas).
George Stevens’ direction is definitely vast in not just the setting of the locations in Marfa, Texas but also for the length of the story that spans nearly four decades. With the scenes in Maryland shot in Virginia, the house interiors and the airport/parade scenes near Burbank, California, the film explores a world that starts off as simple with old ideas and old morals as they work no matter how imperfect they are. Stevens’ usage of wide shots are gorgeous in capturing vast depth of field that is the Benedict land with its horde of cattle which represents this old kind of empire that was the source of income for Texas. There is an intimacy in some of the close-ups and medium shots but also in how Leslie would encounter the new world she’s in as it’s very different the quaint and more colorful world of Maryland. There are moments that would foreshadow certain things including moments of tragedy and sadness but also little things that Leslie does that would shape the fortunes of the less fortunate as it showcases her grace. It is in sharp contrast to the old order that Bick stands for where he doesn’t want Leslie to be involved in conversations he’s having with other men including Uncle Bawley (Chill Wills) who adores Leslie.
The moments of foreshadowing would be prevalent towards its second act once Bick and Leslie become parents as they cope with the fact that Bick’s ideas and plans for his children don’t go as planned. Adding to the trouble is Jett and his emerging oil empire where it play into this sense of change that Bick has trouble adjusting to but also refusing to have Jett drill oil in his land. Stevens’ direction would play into these changes as the scenes of the oil wells and emergence of modern transport play into the falling fortunes of Bick and his reluctance to be part of the oil industry just to survive. Yet, it would all climax in an event that would celebrate Jett’s success as Stevens gives it a grand presentation that is quite large but there’s something about it that is off. Especially as it relates to Jett and what he’s achieved but there’s a sadness to it. Notably as it would also involve something that Bick is forced to see and come to terms with in who he is and be forced to accept. Overall, Stevens creates a riveting and enthralling film about the life of a rancher, his wife, and a ranch hand through many years in Texas.
Cinematographer William C. Mellor does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography in capturing the yellow and sunny desert look of the locations around the Benedict ranch and some of the locations in Texas well as some unique lighting in the interior scenes including the climatic scenes at the Jett hotel. Editors Phil Anderson, Fred Bohanan, and William Hornbeck do excellent work with the editing as its usage of transitional dissolves and fade-outs help play into structure of the film as well as rhythmic cuts to help intensify some of the dramatic moments. Production designer Boris Levin and set decorator Ralph S. Hurst do amazing work with the design of the Benedict home and its interiors as well as the design of the shantytowns that Benedict‘s Mexican workers live in and the hotel that Jett would open including its lavish dining hall. Costume designers Moss Mabry and Marjorie Best do fantastic work with the costumes with the design of the clothes the men wear as well as the dresses with Mabry designing the many clothes that Leslie would wear.
Makeup supervisor Gordon Bau does some fine work with some of the aging makeup in some of the characters though the way Jett looks when he‘s older is just bad as is some of the look of the Mexicans where it looks ridiculously bad. Special visual effects by Jack Cosgrove does some fine work with the minimal visual effects which are just some rear projection shots for a few scenes in the film. The sound work of Earl Crain Sr. is superb for the way some of the parties are held including some of the quieter moments at the Benedict home and the scenes during the work at the ranch and in the oil wells. The film’s music by Dimitri Timokin is wonderful for its soaring orchestral score that play into the drama with some elements of country-western music to play into the world of Texas that also include some traditional songs.
The casting by Hoyt Bowers is incredible as it feature some notable small roles from Mickey Simpson as a racist diner owner, Noreen Nash as a film star, Paul Fix and Judith Evelyn as Leslie’s parents, Carolyn Craig as Leslie’s sister Lacy, Rod Taylor as Leslie’s then-beau Sir David Karfey, Maurice Jara as Dr. Guerra, Charles Watts as family friend Judge Whiteside, Earl Holliman as Judy’s husband Bob who wants a life of his own like his wife, and Sal Mineo as Angel Obregon II as a ranch hand son who is a childhood friend of the Benedict children as well as someone that Leslie is fond of as she helped him get better when he was a baby. Elsa Cardenas is wonderful as Jordy’s wife Juana who is a Mexican-American that Jordy loves as Bick would eventually become fond of late in the film. Jane Withers and Robert Nichols are terrific as Bick’s neighbors in Vashti and Pinky, respectively, as family friends who help the Benedicts cope with changes as well as try to maintain some old ideas.
Chill Wills is fantastic as Uncle Bawley as Bick’s uncle who is the family advisor as well as someone that is willing to hear what Leslie thinks as well as display a tenderness that isn’t seen very often. Fran Bennett is superb as Bick and Leslie’s eldest daughter Judy as a woman who is determined to find her own life as well as go for something that is more down-home rather than what Leslie wants from her. Mercedes McCambridge is brilliant as Bick’s sister Luz as a headstrong woman who finds herself butting heads with Leslie on who should run the house while being the business manager who is fond of Jett. Carroll Baker is excellent as Luz II as the youngest daughter of Bick and Leslie who is a typical young woman that would have a crush on Jett as she becomes confused in her loyalty towards her family. Dennis Hopper is amazing as Jordan “Jordy” Benedict II as Bick and Leslie’s son who is trying to find his own path as a doctor as well as marry a Mexican-American where he faces some prejudice as he tries to stand up for himself and defend his wife’s honor against Jett.
In his final performance, James Dean is incredible as Jett Rink as a ranch hand who would inherit land from Luz that would prove to be prosperous with his discovery of oil where Dean explores someone that was to make something of himself but there’s an emptiness that is quite sad as it show the fallacy of success. Rock Hudson is great as Jordan “Bick” Benedict II as a rancher that meets and falls for a woman from Maryland as he brings her home to Texas where he tries to show her the world that he lives in as he copes with changes of ideals and other things as well as his own immorality that he’s been carrying for so many years. Finally, there’s Elizabeth Taylor in a phenomenal performance as Leslie Benedict as Bick’s new wife who is trying to adjust to her new surroundings while maintaining her own sense of being in a world where women don’t have much say in things as it is Taylor that has this sense of command and grace into her performance while having great rapport with both Hudson and Dean.
Giant is a sensational film from George Stevens. Featuring a great ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, a soaring music score, and a captivating story of changing times, ambition, and ideals. It’s a film that definitely lives up to its definition of the epic while also containing a few flaws. In the end, Giant is an incredible film from George Stevens.
George Stevens Films: (The Cohens and the Kellys in Trouble) - (Kentucky Kernals) - (Bachelor Bait) - (Laddie) - (The Nitwits) - (Alice Adams) - (Annie Oakley) - Swing Time - (Quality Street) - (A Damsel in Distress (1937 film)) - (Vivacious Lady) - (Gunga Din) - (Vigil in the Night) - (Penny Serenade) - (Woman of the Year) - (The Talk of the Town (1942 film)) - (The More the Merrier) - (That Justice Be Done) - (On Our Merry Way) - (I Remember Mama) - A Place in the Sun - (Something to Live For) - Shane - (The Diary of Anne Frank) - (The Greatest Story Ever Told) - (The Only Game in Town)
© thevoid99 2017
