#24: Rebel Without a Cause
Set Piece: Griffith Race
Location: Los Angeles, California
Production Budget: $1.5 million*
It might be somewhat dated now, but Rebel Without a Cause was the classic teen drama/romance in 1955. It was all the rage with James Dean playing the troublemaking kid in a new town looking for a fresh start. The movie dives into the secrets suburban teens keep, from small stuff to serious issues. When it hit theaters in 1955, it caused quite a buzz.

The drag race scene was shot right here in Los Angeles, and they used the iconic Griffith Observatory for other scenes. It got so popular after “Rebel” that they even put up a statue of James Dean there. The Observatory was still pretty new when the movie came out, opening up just twenty years earlier in 1935.