James Dean Under the Dome, Rebel Without a Cause Returns to Griffith Observatory
The observatory will screen the 1955 James Dean classic on October 5 and October 26, and both evenings have sold out.
On October 5 and October 26, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Griffith Observatory will screen Rebel Without a Cause, the 1955 film that put the building on screen as itself. Both evenings are sold out, and the observatory is keeping a waitlist.
“In 1955, Rebel Without a Cause made James Dean an icon and gave Griffith Observatory its first-ever starring role, playing itself,” the observatory writes. In the film, a field trip to the Samuel Oschin Planetarium sets Jim, Judy and Plato on the path to the story’s dramatic conclusion, and the observatory later erected a James Dean monument on its west side, with views of the Hollywood Sign.
The evenings are an encore. Last year, when the observatory marked its 90th anniversary and the film its 70th, two screenings sold out. “This fall, the 1955 classic reunites with its co-star, Griffith Observatory, for two evenings under the stars,” the observatory writes. Time Out reports that the film plays in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon theater.
Observatory director E.C. Krupp, deputy director Mark Pine and Kara Knack, president emerita of the Griffith Observatory Foundation board, will introduce the film and talk about it. Guests also get photo stops at the filming locations and after-hours time with the exhibits, the telescopes and the panoramic views.
Tickets were $50, or $45 for foundation members, and Time Out notes that parking is free. Proceeds go to the Griffith Observatory Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the observatory, and the waitlist is on the observatory’s website.
