Mademoiselle La Clope Des Voeux

Dean stumbles to the ground, where he sees the monkey, but he does much more than merely rewind it [as was written in the script]. Lying flat on his stomach, in his crumpled Easter suit, the drunken Jim Stark gently prods at the toy, trying to get its attention. Then he reaches for it and stares directly into its eyes, smiling wryly before rewinding it. Finally, in a totally unexpected move, Dean lays the monkey on its side and covers it with the crinkled gift wrap that is lying by its side. He puts a gold ribbon on its head, like a crown, and then, strikingly, he cuddles up beside it in a fetal position. Its a startling scene, vintage Dean. As Stewart Stern says, “It summarized the themes of the film,” simultaneously evoking all the roles that Dean would assume in Rebel - parent, child, and lover. According to author David Dalton, Dean was attempting to evoke Manet’s famous painting Dead Toreador, which was one of the actor’s favorites work of art.

It was worth everything we went through that day. We all sat there with tears in our eyes. It was so beautiful. - Steffi Sidney

(Source: jamesdeandaily)