Review of The Rebel (1961) by David H — 04 Oct 2009

They all give it a go at some time or another - TV comedians moving into films that is, or at least trying to move into films. It usually doesnâ??t work out too well, The greats (when great meant great) like Morcambe and Wise and even Peter Cook and Dudley Moore just couldnâ??t seem to transfer the impact of their TV personas onto the silver screen - the success rate still is low. Even Tony Hancock had a bash twice, firstly with The Rebel which sees the lad himself as a disgruntled office worker who packs it all in to throw his weight behind his painting and sculpture and become recognised as the artist that he believes himself to be. Naturally things don't go according to plan.

The film starts off well, very well infact with some excellent set pieces and cameos by Hancocks Half Hour regulars John LeMesurier, Mario Fabrizi and Mrs. Crevatte (Irene Handl in this case) but itâ??s once the writers leave the familiar shores of England (literally in this case) that the film begins to lose something. The pace slows, the set pieces seem deliberately set up, the characters appear one dimensional - his room mate Paul is utterly wooden - staring fecklessly off camera in every scene and the whole film becomes over long.

Through out this Tony Hancock continues to come up with a sterling performance but it seem lost and out of place - he is still playing Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock of 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam; which is all well and good - he was Britainâ??s most loved TV character but that is just what he was - a TV character, and in the 1 hour and 40 minutes of The Rebel he just too big to fit in.

That is not to say that there are not some very funny moments and one liners - because there are, lots of them (a lot more than the far superior Punch and Judy Man) but they are rendered less so by plodding pace and occasionally awful technical gaffs and bad edits that sometimes do jump out at the viewer (my copy must include a thoughtlessly excised shot that renders the illusion of the actors crossing the line of action).

Perhaps Iâ??m biased in my criticism. I love Tony Hancock and I came to this film with high expectations from Ray Galton and Alan Simpsonâ??s (Hancockâ??s Half Hour and Steptoe and Son) writing but I was left feeling disappointed by the under exploited potential that there was for this film. Two years later Tony Hancock would star in Punch and Judy Man and that would prove to be a whole different story.