Rebel Without a Cause on Location at Griffith Observatory
Upcoming Showings
The Movie and the Stars
Celebrate two Hollywood milestones at this special event: Griffith Observatory’s 90th anniversary and the 70th anniversary of the theatrical release of Rebel Without a Cause. Enjoy exclusive after-hours access to Griffith Observatory. See iconic Observatory locations where key scenes in the movie were filmed. Attend a special presentation of the film in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon theater.
The History of Rebel Without a Cause and Griffith Observatory
High above Hollywood and its starry Walk of Fame and sharing the Hollywood Hills with the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory has been in the movies from the beginning, even before it opened to the public in 1935. The Observatory played many roles in its first decades, but it was not cast as itself until it co-starred with movie icon James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause in 1955. According to Griffith Observatory Director Dr. E.C. Krupp, writing in the spring, 2017 FOTO Newsletter, “The Observatory’s cosmic vocation was a key symbolic driver of the movie’s theme, and the film even included a sequence in a planetarium show. That’s why we have a Rebel Without a Cause Monument, with a bust of James Dean and a perfect view of the Hollywood Sign, on the west side of the hilltop.”
This special event is hosted by Griffith Observatory Foundation and directly supports Griffith Observatory in its mission of inspiring everyone to observe, ponder, and the understand the sky.