Hancock, fed up with office routine and given notice by his landlady, takes his artistic ambitions to Paris where, despite a complete absence of talent, he is mistaken for an artistic genius.
First on radio, then on TV, Tony Hancock established a persona in which bombast, arrogance, ignorance, vulnerability and hopelessness mixed to great comic effect. Ray Galton and Alan Simpson provided wonderful scripts, and Hancock's delivery was sublime. The Rebel takes that character - still called "Tony Hancock" and clearly in continuity with his TV existence - out of his familiar surroundings. But the words are still by Galton and Simpson, the delivery is still sublime, and everything which made the character great on TV is still in place.
Plotwise it is a bit silly, although it nicely lampoons artistic pretensions. It is also a pleasure to see a host of UK comic talent being put through their paces in support.
The film was not a great success. Hancock, always uncertain of his great talent, cannot have taken this well.
First on radio, then on TV, Tony Hancock established a persona in which bombast, arrogance, ignorance, vulnerability and hopelessness mixed to great comic effect. Ray Galton and Alan Simpson provided wonderful scripts, and Hancock's delivery was sublime. The Rebel takes that character - still called "Tony Hancock" and clearly in continuity with his TV existence - out of his familiar surroundings. But the words are still by Galton and Simpson, the delivery is still sublime, and everything which made the character great on TV is still in place.
Plotwise it is a bit silly, although it nicely lampoons artistic pretensions. It is also a pleasure to see a host of UK comic talent being put through their paces in support.
The film was not a great success. Hancock, always uncertain of his great talent, cannot have taken this well.