MovieChat Forums > Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Discussion > Two things I found hilarious *SPOILERS*

Two things I found hilarious SPOILERS

posted 11 years ago by hexedd
12 replies | jump to latest

I should preface this by saying I rate this movie a 9/10 so I'm not posting this to be a troll. I love classic cinema, but I also love to notice the differences between expectations of believability from the 1950s and prior to those of the 21st century. I also like to spot the cultural norms and differences in what was considered acceptable to have on screen. My two favourite from this movie are:

1. I love how Judy's boyfriend dies by going off a cliff and she seems to go through a mourning period that lasts about half an hour before falling in love with Jim.

2. The scenes where they show the various teens parents' beds are hilarious because it was still when it was considered "lewd" or "offensive" to show man and wife sleeping in the same bed - hence they are always shown as having two beds in the bedroom.

Anyone else have some favourite moments that "expose" the movie as a product of the 50s?

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] hexedd 11 years ago

lol, yes DEFINITELY true. The casual leftover racism. Although I found it interesting in this movie how she is more of a mother figure than a slave/maid type figure like most African-Americans were portrayed as in films from the 50s and earlier. It's clear she is not totally in charge, but she definitely is not the passive "yessum" type character like in Gone with the Wind.

[–] novastar_6 11 years ago

Gone with the Wind was set about 100 years before Rebel Without a Cause though, big difference. And she WAS going to have Jim's mother's line about 'you hear about this happening to other children', except somebody in the crew didn't want her having that line because he was a racist and didn't see it as being 'human' the line coming from the maid.

[–] fairy_depp 10 years ago

Yeah I found those things odd as well.. I guess it would be a bit of a dreary film if she was moping around though but she did move on quick!!!

I guess in some ways it was more modern than it's time - with the dad being the 'soft touch' (although Jim was obviously uncomfortable with that) and Plato being gay.

I also wondered about Judys relationship with her dad.. It seemed a bit 'odd' and I guess the dad felt that too which is why he told her it wasn't appropriate. Perhaps it's just because it was a film and they weren't really father and daughter but I've never kissed my dad like that.. It did just feel a little bit wrong. I know what they're trying to show - that Jim and Judy feel disconnected from their fathers and that's why they're rebelling but I just don't feel it came off quite right in the film

[–] mdonln 8 years ago

fairy_depp says > I also wondered about Judys relationship with her dad.. It seemed a bit 'odd' and I guess the dad felt that too which is why he told her it wasn't appropriate. Perhaps it's just because it was a film and they weren't really father and daughter

Some people have suggested there was something more going on between them but I saw it as Judy feeling rejected. They had probably been very close at one time but as she got older he kept his distance because he didn't want to react to her like the woman she was becoming.

If that's the case I think he was right to keep from being too affectionate with her. Their relationship had changed but she didn't seem to understand why. Often a girl lacking a father figure or not getting enough attention/affection from her father will turn to other men to fill the need. It's an odd relationship because as little girls we often do 'fall in love' with our dads and learn to love through them. That's possibly why so many people are messed up these days. They don't know who they are or who to love because their families are dysfunctional and they either lack the parental role model or their parents are unable or unwilling to teach them what it means to be functional adults.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] Itsamoomoo 10 years ago

I grew up during this time frame and I don't find anything funny or "hilarious" in the film at all. It's the way things were.

[–] vortexrider 9 years ago

I found it hilarious that the girl was trying to kiss her father and making a deal when he said not to. She tries again and he slaps her. What else is he to do? Is it appropriate for a girl to keep kissing her father at her supposed age 16 ? (Actress looks older)

[–] ruffian82 9 years ago

I found it hilarious that the girl was trying to kiss her father and making a deal when he said not to. She tries again and he slaps her. What else is he to do? Is it appropriate for a girl to keep kissing her father at her supposed age 16 ? (Actress looks older)

See, I want to start a thread about this...hopefully the fact this was just on TCM will bring some replies because that whole relationship, that whole family was so...interesting...subplot in itself.

The oddly beautiful father, (mother's beautiful too,) the dear and understanding younger brother who inexplicably is scolded for showing his sister affection...

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] sarah-103 9 years ago

I always thought Judy was with Buzz because she liked being one of the cool kids. She was with him at first for status, and stayed because she couldn't think of a way out, but she wasn't really happy. Remember, she was interested in Jim before the race. Buzz was not the love of her life by any stretch of the imagination.

"Forget reality, give me a picture"-Remington Steele

[–] lubin-freddy 8 years ago

Yes, Judy is quite what she feared her father thought of her in the opening scene.

I also find it "funny" that Jim tells the police officer that he wishes his father would hit his mother, that she needs, and secretly wants it. This is unchallenged, and must have not seemed strange to the audience.

What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.

[–] liscarkat (18373) 3 years ago

The reason the parents in the movie had separate beds wasn't because it was considered lewd or offensive to show them in one bed. Many examples of couples sleeping in one bed can be found in movies going back to the 1920s. It was still common in the 1950s, in real life, for married couples to have twin beds instead of a larger single bed. Queen-size and king-size beds did not start becoming widespread until the late 1950s. My parents had separate beds for over a decade before they got a king-size bed in 1967.