Tony Hancock's screen debut was in a frightful 1954 'comedy' set on an army base entitled 'Orders Are Orders' ( it also squandered the talents of Peter Sellers and Sidney James ). 'The Rebel', however, was by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson and marked the one and only outing on the big screen for 'Anthony Aloysius St.John Hancock' from Railway Cuttings, East Cheam. Hancock is trapped in a dead end 9-5 job, having to commute to work each morning by train ( shades of 'Reginald Perrin' ) in the company of men in bowler hats who have nothing to say to one another. He dreams of being a great artist in spite of having zero talent, and is currently working on a grotesque sculpture of Aphrodite back at his digs, much to the disgust of landlady Mrs.Crevatte ( Irene Handl in a role played previously by Patricia Hayes ). He decides to go to Paris to become a great painter. Moving in with a young Englishman named Paul ( Paul Massie ), Hancock charms the locals into thinking he is some kind of genius. When a disillusioned Paul moves out, he leaves his paintings - which are brilliant - behind. Art critic Sir Charles Brewer ( George Sanders ) mistakes these for Hancock's work, and suddenly our hero is the toast of Gay Paree...
In their book 'Sunday Times Guide To Movies', Angela and Elkan Allan said that one of the tragedies of Hancock's life was that he never met a director who could take his particular brand of comedy and distill it for the cinema. 'The Rebel' was directed by Robert Day, whose other credits include several 'Tarzan' films and episodes of 'The Avengers' series. He does a fair job on the whole, but it would have been interesting to see what Ronald Neame or Charles Crichton might have done with it. Hancock dominates every scene he is, and projects more personality than a lot of other television comedians turned movie stars. The script is good, making digs at the pretentiousness of modern art and art lovers, although there are some longueurs here and there, most notably Jim Smith's ( Dennis Price ) party, and Hancock's problems with the sex-mad wife ( Margit Saad ) of millionaire Carreras ( Gregoire Aslan ). In the 'beat generation' you can see the beginnings of what ultimately became the hippie movement ( how chilling is it now to hear Josey ( Nanette Newman ) say: "why kill time when you can kill yourself?" in the knowledge that Hancock did just that only seven years later ).
Good supporting cast, many of whom had worked with Tony before such as Hugh Lloyd, Liz Fraser, Mario Fabrizi and the peerless John Le Mesurier. Peter Bull and Mervyn Jones play art gallery managers. A young Oliver Reed is one of Paul's friends. The writers wanted to give Sid James a cameo but Hancock vetoed it because he wished to prove he could work on the big screen on his own.
'The Rebel' was a success, and Hancock planned to make more films, but in the event only one - the marvellous 'The Punch & Judy Man' ( 1963 ) - materialised.
In their book 'Sunday Times Guide To Movies', Angela and Elkan Allan said that one of the tragedies of Hancock's life was that he never met a director who could take his particular brand of comedy and distill it for the cinema. 'The Rebel' was directed by Robert Day, whose other credits include several 'Tarzan' films and episodes of 'The Avengers' series. He does a fair job on the whole, but it would have been interesting to see what Ronald Neame or Charles Crichton might have done with it. Hancock dominates every scene he is, and projects more personality than a lot of other television comedians turned movie stars. The script is good, making digs at the pretentiousness of modern art and art lovers, although there are some longueurs here and there, most notably Jim Smith's ( Dennis Price ) party, and Hancock's problems with the sex-mad wife ( Margit Saad ) of millionaire Carreras ( Gregoire Aslan ). In the 'beat generation' you can see the beginnings of what ultimately became the hippie movement ( how chilling is it now to hear Josey ( Nanette Newman ) say: "why kill time when you can kill yourself?" in the knowledge that Hancock did just that only seven years later ).
Good supporting cast, many of whom had worked with Tony before such as Hugh Lloyd, Liz Fraser, Mario Fabrizi and the peerless John Le Mesurier. Peter Bull and Mervyn Jones play art gallery managers. A young Oliver Reed is one of Paul's friends. The writers wanted to give Sid James a cameo but Hancock vetoed it because he wished to prove he could work on the big screen on his own.
'The Rebel' was a success, and Hancock planned to make more films, but in the event only one - the marvellous 'The Punch & Judy Man' ( 1963 ) - materialised.