Bonus video! The odd parallels between James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, and their characters
Hello there!
Time for a new bonus video, and this week we'll be digging deep into the lives of James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo -- all of whom found themselves in real-life situations that were oddly similar to those of their Rebel Without a Cause characters. One of my favorite similarities is the aspect of infatuation: In Rebel, it's Sal's character who's infatuated with James Dean's, but in real life James Dean had cultivated quite the obsession with another famous fellow.
And if you haven't seen Rebel (or you're just in the mood for a refresher) you're in luck: Starting today, January 28, we'll be doing a watch-along of the film over on Twitch, starting at noon pacific. Hope you can make it! http://twitch.tv/mattbaume
Backup link in case the video doesn't play: https://youtu.be/HN6Ne0MCbqQ
Comments (9)
SOOO sad I missed the Rebel stream :(
Sorry you missed it! BUT we'll be doing lots more streams every Sunday ... I might do a Streetcar-themed one next?
Every time I see Sal Mineo I'm reminded that Ralph Macchio apparently tried for YEARS to get a Sal Mineo biopic greenlit, and I'm sad all over again. I think he would have done a really creditable job with it, both acting and producing or directing.
I doubt this is useful for your research in any way, but if you happen to have East of Eden on DVD, I recall there being a mini-documentary on James Dean in the special features. They interview his friends and relatives from his hometown and there's a hilarious moment where a guy insists on James Dean's heterosexuality in the most bizarre way possible.
Oh that's fascinating -- will definitely check that out, thank you!
Very interesting video. Something occurred to me for the first time while I was watching your video. The scene where the Natalie Wood character kissed her father and he slapped her made me wonder if there is a darker subtext to that character, that she was abused sexually by her father as a child. It fits in with the father's wiping off her lipstick, wanting to keep her as a child and the anger he obiously had toward her for growing up. This idea never occurred to me when I've watched the film before, then suddenly there it was. This film has so much to it, and I can't wait to see your documentary on it. Thanks for all your hard work.
I think that's an extremely valid reading -- especially since there are indications that the director, Nick Ray, had a really awful personal background involving that topic. It's hard to know the exact details, since everyone has different versions of what happened. But from what many people have said, it seems likely that there were multiple people in his life who were victims of abuse, including his son and Natalie Wood. And in the film, the father's unusually aggressive reaction to Judy really comes off as someone who is plagued by deeply unpleasant thoughts.
I was obsessed with Dean when I was a teen, even though he’d been dead for decades lol. When does the full video come out? Can’t wait!
I'm shooting for Feb 11 -- just gotta gather a biiiit more research and then I can lock it in. Might slip to Feb 18 but I'm trying to be firm with myself about not going down too many rabbit holes!