#Marietta Canty

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Natalie Wood and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955)

Cast: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, James Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, William Hopper, Rochelle Hudson, Dennis Hopper. Screenplay: Stewart Stern, Irving Shulman, Nicholas Ray. Cinematography: Ernest Haller. Art direction: Malcolm C. Bert. Film editing: William H. Ziegler. Music: Leonard Rosenbaum. 

Rebel Without a Cause seems to me a better movie than either of the other two James Dean made: East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955) and Giant (George Stevens, 1956). It's less pretentious than the adaptation of John Steinbeck's attempt to retell the story of Cain and Abel in the Salinas Valley, and less bloated than the blockbuster version of Edna Ferber's novel about Texas. And Ray, a director with many personal hangups of his own, was far more in tune with Dean than either Kazan or Stevens, who were shocked by their star's eccentricities. Granted, Rebel is full of hack psychology and sociology, attributing the problems of Jim Stark (Dean), Judy (Natalie Wood), and John "Plato" Crawford (Sal Mineo) to parental inadequacy: Jim's weak father (Jim Backus) and domineering mother (Ann Doran) and paternal grandmother (Virginia Brissac), Judy's distant father (William Hopper) and mother (Rochelle Hudson), and Plato's absentee parents who have left him in care of the maid (Marietta Canty). In fact, Jim and his friends really are rebels without a cause, there being neither an efficient cause -- one that makes them do stupidly self-destructive things -- nor a final cause -- a clear purpose behind their madness. Fortunately, Ray is not as interested in explaining his characters as he is in bringing them to life. Unlike Kazan or Stevens, Ray gives his actors ample room to explore the parts they're playing. There's a loose, improvisatory quality to the scenes Dean, Wood, and Mineo play together, more suggestive of the French New Wave filmmakers than of Hollywood's tightly controlled directors. It's no surprise that both Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut were admirers of Ray's work. At the same time, though, Rebel is very much a Hollywood product, with vivid color cinematography by Ernest Haller, who had won an Oscar for his work on Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939), and a fine score by Leonard Rosenman. Most of all, though, it has Dean, Wood, and Mineo, performers with an obvious rapport. At one point, for example, Dean puts a cigarette in his mouth backward -- filter on the outside -- and Wood reaches out and turns it around, a bit establishing their intimacy that feels so real that you wonder if it was improvised or developed in performance. (In fact, I noticed the gesture because I had just seen Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend, made ten years earlier, in which Jane Wyman performs the same turning-the-cigarette-around action for Ray Milland several times. Cigarettes are nasty things but they make wonderful props.)

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Cast: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, James Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, William Hopper, Rochelle Hudson, Dennis Hopper. Screenplay: Stewart Stern, Irving Shulman, Nicholas Ray. Cinematography: Ernest Haller. Art direction: Malcolm C. Bert. Film editing: William H. Ziegler. Music: Leonard Rosenbaum. 

Rebel Without a Cause seems to me a better movie than either of the other two James Dean made: East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955) and Giant (George Stevens, 1956). It’s less pretentious than the adaptation of John Steinbeck’s attempt to retell the story of Cain and Abel in the Salinas Valley, and less bloated than the blockbuster version of Edna Ferber’s novel about Texas. And Ray, a director with many personal hangups of his own, was far more in tune with Dean than either Kazan or Stevens, who were shocked by their star’s eccentricities. Granted, Rebel is full of hack psychology and sociology, attributing the problems of Jim Stark (Dean), Judy (Natalie Wood), and John “Plato” Crawford (Sal Mineo) to parental inadequacy: Jim’s weak father (Jim Backus) and domineering mother (Ann Doran) and paternal grandmother (Virginia Brissac), Judy’s distant father (William Hopper) and mother (Rochelle Hudson), and Plato’s absentee parents who have left him in care of the maid (Marietta Canty). In fact, Jim and his friends really are rebels without a cause, there being neither an efficient cause – one that makes them do stupidly self-destructive things – nor a final cause – a clear purpose behind their madness. Fortunately, Ray is not as interested in explaining his characters as he is in bringing them to life. Unlike Kazan or Stevens, Ray gives his actors ample room to explore the parts they’re playing. There’s a loose, improvisatory quality to the scenes Dean, Wood, and Mineo play together, more suggestive of the French New Wave filmmakers than of Hollywood’s tightly controlled directors. It’s no surprise that both Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut were admirers of Ray’s work. At the same time, though, Rebel is very much a Hollywood product, with vivid color cinematography by Ernest Haller, who had won an Oscar for his work on Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939), and a fine score by Leonard Rosenman. Most of all, though, it has Dean, Wood, and Mineo, performers with an obvious rapport. At one point, for example, Dean puts a cigarette in his mouth backward – filter on the outside – and Wood reaches out and turns it around, a bit establishing their intimacy that feels so real that you wonder if it was improvised or developed in performance. (In fact, I noticed the gesture because I had just seen Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend, made ten years earlier, in which Jane Wyman performs the same turning-the-cigarette-around action for Ray Milland several times. Cigarettes are nasty things but they make wonderful props.)

James Dean as Jim Stark REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) dir. Nicholas Ray

[oldshowbiz]

Marietta Canty played dozens of maids in the movies of 1940s Hollywood. Her last role was as the maid in Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

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Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Time to watch one of James Dean’s last films. He died a month before this was released.

The above scene was completely improvised by James Dean. He told the cameras to roll and said, “Just want to try something.” They kept it for the opening credits.

"If I had one day when I didn't have to be all confused and I didn't have to feel that I was ashamed of everything. If I felt that I belonged someplace. You know?”

Why is “the new kid” trope ever something to pick on? I always found the new kid to be the most exciting. There’s always possibility with a new kid.

Buzz Gunderson: You know something? I like you. Jim Stark: Why do we do this? Buzz Gunderson: You've gotta do something. Don't you?

God, how terrifying. Poor Buzz. He was a bit of a bully, but he didn’t deserve that.

Why is this child more honorable than his parents?! They want a good kid, but they won’t let the kid be a good kid. They’re awful.

“Jim who? I’VE NEVER HEARD OF YOU!” Hangs up. Seriously? Like, so what? Who cares if you’ve never heard of him. Could be a new friend from school. What a dickhead.

Fun fact: The pool in this film was first used for Sunset Boulevard.

ESE: 90/100

50 +5 for offering a stranger your coat +5 for mooing at Taurus +5 for the world ending -10 for Judy grinning while Buzz stabs Jim’s tire +5 for Jim’s dad’s flowery apron +10 for the story of a single day +5 for the most adorable little brother +10 for the cautionary tale +5 for Plato’s two different socks +10 for talking Plato down -10 for cops being fucking trash

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Father of the Bride (1950) Vincente Minnelli

May 8th 2021

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The Spoilers 1942

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Movies I saw in 2019

↳ Father of the Bride (1950)

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Rebel Without a Cause | Nicholas Ray | 1955

Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Marietta Canty, James Dean

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For just $3.99 Father's Little Dividend Released on April 27, 1951: This movie is the sequel to the classic Father of the Bride, released in 1950. The harried father Spencer Tracy is confronted with even more life-changing events when his daughter Elizabeth Taylor discovers that she is having a baby. Directed by: Vincente Minnelli Written by: Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich The Actors: Spencer Tracy Stanley Banks, Elizabeth Taylor Kay Dunstan, Joan Bennett Ellie Banks, Don Taylor Buckley Dunstan, Billie Burke Doris Dunstan, Paul Harvey Rev. Galsworthy, Moroni Olsen Herbert Dunstan, Richard Rober the police sergeant, Marietta Canty Banks' maid, Russ Tamblyn Tommy Banks, Tom Irish Ben Banks, Hayden Rorke Dr. Andrew Nordell, George Bruggeman instructor at the gym, Donald Clark baby Stanley Banks-Dunstan, Jacqueline Duval baby shower participant, Herbert Evans waiter at the Men's Club, Janey Fay baby shower participant Runtime: 1h 22m *** This item will be supplied on a quality disc and will be sent in a sleeve that is designed for posting CD's DVDs *** This item will be sent by 1st class post for quick delivery. Should you not receive your item within 12 working days of making payment, please contact us as it is unusual for any item to take this long to be delivered. Note: All my products are either my own work, licensed to me directly or supplied to me under a GPL/GNU License. No Trademarks, copyrights or rules have been violated by this item. This product complies withs rules on compilations, international media and downloadable media. All items are supplied on CD or DVD.

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THE SPOILERS Marietta Canty is the lady playing the role of the maid was born on September 30, 1905 in Hartford, Connecticut. THE SPOILERS was made in 1942 and this movie has always tripped me out. Lol (at Planet Earth) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDU-o45HY3u/?igshid=le09sz8mzeva

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Mitzi Gaynor and Marietta Canty in The I Don’t Care Girl (1953)

Direction: Lloyd Bacon

Costumes: Renié

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Rebel Without a Cause dir. Nicholas Ray (1955)

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Sal Mineo, Marietta Canty, Robert Foulk, Natalie Wood, James Dean, Dennis Hopper, William Hopper, Rochelle Hudson, Corey Allen, Ann Doran, Jim Backus, and Edward Platt in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Dir. Nicholas Ray.

Having heard about this film for more than half a century, it was interesting upon finally watching it to discover major flaws in my preconceptions about the plot. It's a reasonably good story about youthful angst over social awkwardness and the cruelty a group of young people is capable of inflicting upon other youths perceived as being outside the group. Some of the ganglike behaviour is loutish, something that hasn't changed since 1955. Some of the police in the film are portrayed as being more concerned about helping people than appears to be the case in present times.

 It is interesting to reflect upon the teens and young adults I knew when I was still a child. These people would have been influenced by this film, and looking back there were some attitudes and mannerisms on display back then that could have their origins in this film. One such thing is that young men who thought of themselves as being tough would go cruising about in cars, and they were reputed to carry with them heavy chains for use in fights with others of their kind.

 Read Roger Ebert's review for fascinating insight into the way the attitudes of the youths in this film fit into psychological theory of the time; how the nihilism on display among these youths was a reflection of the existentialist philosophy emerging in Europe; and how there are homosexual allusions in the film, even though this probably wasn't recognized in 1955.

James Dean died in a car crash a month before this film was released, a fact that forever influences its reception. All of that aside, it remains a nice film for those who enjoy armchair time travel back to the mid 20th century.

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Marietta Canty 

Best known for her work in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Father's Little Dividend (1951).