Script To Screen: “Rebel Without A Cause”

Perhaps the most memorable scene from the 1955 movie Rebel Without A Cause, screenplay by Stewart Stern, adaptation by Irving Shulman, story by Nicholas Ray

Setup: A game of “chicken” between two rivals, Jim and Buzz.

Two shot. JIM and BUZZ. JIM is staring below. He is
beginning to perspire. He lights a cigarette. Without
taking his hand from JIM's shoulder, BUZZ borrows the
cigarette from his lips, takes a drag and hands it back.
JIM takes another puff then tosses it into the abyss. BUZZ
(quietly)
This is the edge, boy. This is the
end. JIM
Yeah. BUZZ
I like you, you know? JIM
Buzz? What are we doing this for? BUZZ
(still quiet)
We got to do something. Don't we?Long shot. JIM and BUZZ with PLATO in f.g. JIM and BUZZ
appear to him as two close friends. Suddenly they break and
go, without speaking further, to their cars. They back up
to the opposite end of the plateau, headlights dark. PLATO
follows them with his gaze.Group shot. GOON and others looking up as the cars glide by.Med. shot. JUDY waiting as BUZZ and JIM move into starting
position next to her. JUDY goes to BUZZ. JIM is in b.g.--
looking on. JUDY
Feel okay? BUZZ
Give me some dirt.She bends out of sight for a moment as BUZZ goes on talking,
then hands him the dirt. He rubs it into his palms. BUZZ
Hey, Toreador! She signals. We
head for the edge. The first guy
who jumps--chicken!JUDY and BUZZ kiss, without much interest. BUZZ
What's happening? JUDY
Good luck, Buzz.She starts out, without kissing him again. JIM
(calling softly)
Judy.Med. shot. JIM's car as JUDY comes to him. JIM
Me too.She looks at him a moment then bends and hands him some dirt.
Their heads touch for an instant. JIM
Thank you.She breaks the look and hurries away.Long shot. The cars. They are lined up in two rows--
headlights facing each other. JUDY comes into shot. When
she gets near camera, she stops and turns back to face them. BUZZ
Hit your lights!Suddenly the headlights of all the cars come on full.Reverse shot. JUDY. She is in the center of the glare.
Behind her we see the other kids filing out of their cars,
hurrying toward the edge of the bluff. The sound of the two
motors revving then dying and revving again.Inside JIM's car. JIM grips the wheel firmly, relaxes his
hands to rub his palms together and crack his knuckles. He
grips the wheel again. Steps on the accelerator, winding
his engine into a roar. He lets up, looks tensely at--BUZZ in his car. His chin juts forward. He lets go of the
wheel, starts to comb his hair.Slow pan shot. Spectators staring off at the cars. A boy
has his arm around the girl in front of him, his cheek
against hers. Both are looking off. Some of the kids smoke.
All are involved in the blasting of engines.PLATO among the spectators near edge of the bluff. He is
chewing his lip. Camera pans down to show that the fingers
of both his hands are tightly crossed.Close shot. JUDY staring tensely into the glare. Suddenly
she raises her hands high above her head.Close shot. JIM sweating it out. He leans forward,
squinting, ready.Close shot. BUZZ. He puts his comb between his teeth and
clamps it hard. He settles himself for the run.Long shot. Plateau. The cars are in close, seen from the
rear. JUDY is a small distant figure, arms stretched high.
The exhaust blasts. Now she drops her arms. The cars leap
ahead.Med. shot. JUDY. She whirls to see the cars snap by, then
begins running up the center of the plateau between the
lines of spectators.Full shot. Spectators. Shooting over their shoulders as
the cars approach and scream past.Pit shot. Cars. As they approach, gaining speed, and
thunder over the camera.Inside JIM's car. (Process). He is tense.Inside BUZZ's car. (Process). His hands hard on the wheel.
The comb is still between his teeth. He begins edging
toward the door on his left.Moving close shot. JUDY biting hard on her finger, as she
runs forward.Close shot. PLATO. Both hands cover his mouth. The
fingers are still crossed.Inside JIM's car. (Process). As he edges to his left. He
is driving with one hand. He opens the door, gets set for
his jump.Inside BUZZ's car. (Process). He reaches for the door
handle and misses. As he raises his arm to reach again, the
strap of his windbreaker sleeve slips over the handle. He
looks down in panic, then back at the drop ahead. He tugs
but cannot get the sleeve loose.Closeup. PLATO staring. He shuts his eyes tight and keeps
them shut.Shooting at backs of the two cars as they race through the
row of lights toward the edge.Inside JIM's car. (Process). His face is soaked. He looks
once toward BUZZ--then ahead. His eyes widen in fear. He
shoves left and flings himself forward, and out.Outside JIM's car as he sprawls forward--into camera.Inside BUZZ's car. (Process). BUZZ leans way forward now.
He seems to rise in his seat. His mouth opens and the comb
falls out.Full shot spectators staring in disbelief. Suddenly a youth
ducks his face into the neck of his girlfriend so he cannot
see. At the same instant-- CROWD
(in a single breath)
Oh!Rear view. Edge of the bluff as the two cars go over.
There is NO human sound.Close shot. JIM as he stops rolling.BUZZ's car in flight. (Special effects). The car soars
through the night, the vehicle of a terrible journey.Med. shot. BUZZ. (Process). Surprise has gone. He rides
lightly on the thrill of his last moment--then suddenly, his
face twists in a spasm of protest and loss.The kids staring at his flight.JIM unaware of the disaster--glad he made it.Low angle. Edge of the bluff. With headlights blazing,
both cars dive down.Med. shot. JUDY standing frozen as the spectators shove
past and around her.Wide angle. Edge of the bluff as spectators swarm to it,
stand looking down.JIM on hands and knees, trying to rise. Legs rush by him,
knock him onto his face.Long shot. (Special effects). Both cars plunge into the
ocean below.

Here is the scene from the movie:

Note the small details of the script that end up in the movie, like Plato’s crossed fingers, but also some key differences. Can you spot those? Why do you think director Nicholas Ray cut the movie that way?

Also this: If you take away the actual camera shots — Long shot, Wide angle, Med. shot — you’d have a script that looks pretty similar to the style used in action scripts nowadays, each paragraph representing a camera shot.

One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a weekly series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.

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