James Dean's Harrowing Lead Performance Anchors the Haunting Rebel Without a Cause

All these years later, the ripple effects of Rebel Without a Cause are still reverberating throughout pop culture. Nicholas Ray's 1955 movie is one of those features whose influence on cinema as a whole really can't be overstated. Whether it's the costume worn by protagonist Jim Stark (James Dean), certain lines of dialogue, or just the way Stewart Stern's screenplay depicted teenage angst, Rebel Without a Cause is still influencing our world in 2020. Having finally watched it for the first time, it's not hard to see why. Rebel Without a Cause doesn't feel like a relic from a bygone era, it still feels as fresh and relevant as ever.

In a Lonely Place and its Humphery Bogart Performance Constantly and Brilliantly Subvert Viewer Expectations

SPOILERS FOR IN A LONELY PLACE FOLLOW 

By the time the 1950s began, American moviegoers were more than a touch familiar with the most well-worn routines of the genre that would be later known as film noir. So In a Lonely Place, a Nicholas Ray directorial effort, decided to play on this familiarity in a clever manner. This brilliant feature lulls the viewer into thinking they know every step of its story by, at first, playing itself as a straightforward film noir, right down to casting film noir legend Humphery Bogart in the lead role. But around the midpoint in the story, In a Lonely Place pulls the rug out of from under the viewer and subverts expectations over who and what this movie is really about. A traditional film noir, this is not, and In a Lonely Place is all the better for that!