Hal Ditmar (James MacArthur) is a regular teen in the privaleged upper class suburbs. His mother Helen Ditmar (Kim Hunter) is a social butterfly. His father Tom Ditmar (James Daly) is a big film producer. He gets into a fight at the movies with the manager. He and his buddy are brought into the police station and get interrogated by Sgt. Shipley (James Gregory).
Rebel Without a Cause was 1955. There is a whole string of these troubled youth films. James Dean was great as a troubled teen and the audience loved him for it. In many ways, he's rebelling with cause. In this movie, Hal is just a jerk in that incident. It's interesting and MacArthur definitely has a chip on his shoulder. It takes a long while before he voices anything that would draw the audience to him. Eventually, he gets to an interesting exchange with his father and that deserves some comparing.
Rebel Without a Cause was 1955. There is a whole string of these troubled youth films. James Dean was great as a troubled teen and the audience loved him for it. In many ways, he's rebelling with cause. In this movie, Hal is just a jerk in that incident. It's interesting and MacArthur definitely has a chip on his shoulder. It takes a long while before he voices anything that would draw the audience to him. Eventually, he gets to an interesting exchange with his father and that deserves some comparing.