Rebel Without a Cause

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE by Stewart Stern CAST OF CHARACTERS JIM'S FAMILY JIM'S GRANDMA: A chic, domineering woman in her sixties who has made her son Frank dependent upon her for every breath he takes.She is the irritant in the household--the silent ruler--the silent enemy of Frank's marriage. JIM'S FATHER: Frank is an unfeathered man who has never been able to have fun.He is anxious to be a real father to Jim, but has never learned how. JIM'S MOTHER: Tense and immature, she has never found the husband she married.Upset by the presence of her mother-in-law, mated with an ineffectual and joyless man, she takes out her disappointment on him and on her son. JIM: The angry victim and the result.At seventeen he is filled with confusion about his role in life.Because of his "nowhere" father, he does not know how to be a man.Because of his wounding mother, he anticipates destruction in all women.And yet he wants to find a girl who will be willing to receive his tenderness. JUDY'S FAMILY JUDY'S FATHER: a junior partner in a law firm.Boyish, attractive and debonair.Because he is frightened by the adolescence of his daughter, Judy, his only recourse is to criticize her. JUDY'S MOTHER: Self-centered and frightened by the coming of middle- age.She feels that Judy's blossoming youth is threatening her wifely position as the desirable object of the husband's attentions. JUDY: The victim and the result.