Using CinemaScope as a probe, Nick Ray pried open the walls of the American home in Rebel Without a Cause. The lasting image of ineffectual father Jim Backus in an apron goes beyond pseudo-Freudian analysis to the director's rare mixture of cold criticism and sensitivity toward the problems of the mid-fifties family. James Dean's attempt to re-create a family with Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo is presented with unsentimental clarity that owes much to Ray's understanding of alienated youth. Memorable as they are, neither the paternal apron nor Sal Mineo's mismatched sox made fashion history. But the film that offered James Dean as an emblem for an entire generation-and established him as an actor of impressive depth and sensitivity-made T-shirts, windbreaker jackets, and jeans de rigueur. For the rebel without an allowance, a good thing. (JB)