‘Rebel Without a Cause’: Secrets From the 1955 Film, Including the Shocking On-Set Affairs

When film expert Foster Hirsch shows Rebel Without a Cause to his students today, they still relate. “There are many aspects of the film that are dated,” he tells Closer, “but James Dean’s performance strikes the students as perennially modern and contemporary.”

It’s been nearly 70 years since this classic tale of troubled youth garnered Natalie Wood her first Oscar nomination and made the recently deceased James — called Jimmy by his friends — a legend. The creation of the film, which would also introduce Sal Mineo and Dennis Hopper to a wider audience, was rife with clandestine love affairs, rebellion, suspense and surprises.

Jimmy’s performance in East of Eden had caught the eye of Rebel director Nicholas Ray. Although the studio lobbied for other actors, including Robert Wagner, Tab Hunter and John Kerr, to play Jim Stark, Nick insisted on Jimmy, who represented a newer, more modern acting style. “He seems so spontaneous,” says Hirsch, author of Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties. “A lot of what he did was improvised.”

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Likewise, Debbie Reynolds, Margaret O’Brien, Carroll Baker and Jayne Mansfield were front-runners to play Judy. Natalie, then 16, secured the role after auditioning and beginning an affair with the middle-aged director. “It was entirely consensual. She was crazy about him,” says Hirsch. “But it certainly would not be acceptable today.”

Once filming began, Natalie also became romantically involved with Dennis Hopper, then 19 and making his film debut as Goon. Natalie’s mother, Maria, a consummate stage mother, complained to the studio about the relationship, but remained silent about the director, as she believed that affair was good for her daughter’s career. “The studio came down on me,” recalled an outraged Dennis, “and he came out of it as pure as snow.”

The director also played against the conventions of the 1950s by suggesting in the film that Sal’s character was gay. “Plato has a photograph of Alan Ladd on his locker door, which is a giveaway,” says Hirsch. “Then you see the intense feelings between him and Jim. It was hiding in plain sight.”

Released in October 1955, just weeks after Jimmy’s death in a car accident, Rebel became a modern classic both for its acting and its timeless themes. Natalie, Sal and director Nicholas would all receive Oscar nominations for their work. “It’s a film about kids grappling with anxiety, relations with parents, and group identity,” says Hirsch, “things that are always going to be relevant with young people trying to find their place in the world.”