Directed by Robert Day and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, Anthony Hancock gives up his day job to become an artist. He’s a lot of enthusiasm, but little talent, and critics dislike his work. Nevertheless, he impresses a talented artist. Starring: Tony Hancock, George Sanders, Paul Massie, Margit Saad, Grégoire Aslan, Dennis Price, Irene Handl, John Le Mesurier and Liz Fraser.
While most of The Rebelmay take place outside of the UK, one thing’s for sure, it could not be more British, it slides right into place between Peter Sellers, Norman Wisdom and the Carry On franchise. It’s driven by luck, coincidence and sheer clumsiness, hallmarks of comedy in the 1960s. So, undoubtedly your enjoyment of it is going to depend on how well you get along with that style of humour, because if you like it then you’re in for a treat and if you don’t, it’s probably not for you.
It’s a good old-fashioned, simple sense of humour but as things progress, they start to change up slightly. The main part of that being that Anthony goes from being an over-confident but lovable oaf, to a genuinely dislikable, selfish character and yet he holds onto that watchable quality.
It’s interestingly both a positive and a negative, because while it’s an entertaining blunder for the character, it also ultimately undermines the story. The filmmakers spends so long creating this villainous side for Anthony, that they don’t leave enough time to create a resolution that does justice to the real underdog hero of the story which is unsatisfying.
On top of that it feels like they never truly lean into the absurdist nature of the plot. There was a huge opportunity to really throw a wildness and chaos into the mix but it holds back. There’s still plenty of farcical adventures but they’re relatively tame. Although, a lot of credit has to go to Tony Hancock for making Anthony ridiculously over-confident while never feeling truly obnoxious. There’s a simple nature to him, a desire to be creative and to escape the stream of drudgery and conformism of everyday life that’s very relatable. Creating that charm early on was definitely a key to getting viewers to stick with him as he lets praise go to his head.
The Rebel is perfect viewing for anyone who loves a bit of 1960s humour, simple, silly and over the top. Tony Hancock is on top form for his feature-film debut, diving headfirst into the art world and bluffing his way through on pure enthusiasm and confidence. It can let a few gags run on longer than they need to and doesn’t get as crazy as it could have but it’s an entertaining romp across the channel.
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