The Rebel (1961 film)
Encyclopedia
The film The Rebel (US title: Call Me Genius) is a satirical comedy
starring the British
comedian Tony Hancock
, and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson
.
office clerk who gives up his office job to pursue full-time his vocation as an artist. Single mindedly, and with an enthusiasm far exceeding any artistic talent (his "art" has a "childlike" quality - to put it mildly), he sets to work on his masterpiece Aphrodite
at the Waterhole, moving to Paris
where he expects his genius will be appreciated. While his "ideas" and persona gain acceptance (indeed plaudits) among the "beat
" set, legitimate art critics, like Sir Charles Broward, (George Sanders
) scoff at his work. He manages to achieve success, however, when the work of his former roommate, another artist, becomes confused with his own. The confusion is eventually resolved after a series of art exhibitions, and he returns, down but not out, to London, where he pursues his "art" in defiance of whatever others may think of it.
The film consists of many scenes parodying modern art and poetry. The scene showing Hancock splashing paint onto a canvas and riding a bike over it, is quite reminiscent of Jackson Pollock's technique. The child-like paintings parody the naive style.
themes by mocking Parisian intellectual society in general and portraying the pretensions of the English middle class in particular. It attempts to transfer Hancock's TV comedy persona to the big screen, and several of his regular supporting cast also appeared, including John Le Mesurier
, Liz Fraser
and Mario Fabrizi
. Although the film did moderately well, it was not well received in the USA, where audiences possibly did not understand the highly anglocentric humour.
The railway station used at the beginning of the film named Fortune Green South, was actually Bingham Road Halt in the Croydon suburb of Addiscombe
. The station has now been demolished.
Nominated for a BAFTA Film Award in 1962 - Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles: Tony Hancock
The film's plot bears some similarities to the Hancock's Half Hour
radio episode "The Poetry Society" (also written by Galton and Simpson), in which Hancock's character attempts to ingratiate himself with a group of snobbish pseudo-intellectuals but is rejected because he is unable to imitate their pretentious poetic style.
Both lead actors later committed suicide in real life, Hancock in 1968 and Sanders in 1972.
In 2002, the London Institute of 'Pataphysics organised an exhibition based around the recreation of all the art works seen the film and presented the exhibition as if it were a retrospective of a real unknown artist called Anthony Hancock.
On Mrs. Crevatte first encountering Hancock's Aphrodite
at the Waterhole
The abstract expressionist painting scene:
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
starring the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedian Tony Hancock
Tony Hancock
Anthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
, and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson
Galton and Simpson
Ray Galton OBE , and Alan Simpson OBE , are British scriptwriters who met in 1948 at a tuberculosis sanatorium, the Surrey county sanatorium near Godalming, on which the sitcom Get Well Soon was based...
.
Plot
Hancock plays a downtrodden LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
office clerk who gives up his office job to pursue full-time his vocation as an artist. Single mindedly, and with an enthusiasm far exceeding any artistic talent (his "art" has a "childlike" quality - to put it mildly), he sets to work on his masterpiece Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
at the Waterhole, moving to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where he expects his genius will be appreciated. While his "ideas" and persona gain acceptance (indeed plaudits) among the "beat
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
" set, legitimate art critics, like Sir Charles Broward, (George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
) scoff at his work. He manages to achieve success, however, when the work of his former roommate, another artist, becomes confused with his own. The confusion is eventually resolved after a series of art exhibitions, and he returns, down but not out, to London, where he pursues his "art" in defiance of whatever others may think of it.
The film consists of many scenes parodying modern art and poetry. The scene showing Hancock splashing paint onto a canvas and riding a bike over it, is quite reminiscent of Jackson Pollock's technique. The child-like paintings parody the naive style.
Other information of note
The film explores existentialistExistentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
themes by mocking Parisian intellectual society in general and portraying the pretensions of the English middle class in particular. It attempts to transfer Hancock's TV comedy persona to the big screen, and several of his regular supporting cast also appeared, including John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
, Liz Fraser
Liz Fraser
Liz Fraser is an English actress, mainly in comedy roles.- Life and career :Her birthdate is usually attributed as 1933, the year she gave when auditioning for her role in I'm All Right Jack, as the Boulting Brothers wanted someone younger for the part...
and Mario Fabrizi
Mario Fabrizi
Mario Fabrizi was an English comedian and actor of Italian descent active in Britain in the 1950s and early 1960s....
. Although the film did moderately well, it was not well received in the USA, where audiences possibly did not understand the highly anglocentric humour.
The railway station used at the beginning of the film named Fortune Green South, was actually Bingham Road Halt in the Croydon suburb of Addiscombe
Addiscombe
Addiscombe is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Croydon. It is situated south of Charing Cross.It is situated just to the northeast of central Croydon, and is home to a high proportion of people who commute to Central London, owing to its proximity to the busy...
. The station has now been demolished.
Nominated for a BAFTA Film Award in 1962 - Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles: Tony Hancock
The film's plot bears some similarities to the Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
radio episode "The Poetry Society" (also written by Galton and Simpson), in which Hancock's character attempts to ingratiate himself with a group of snobbish pseudo-intellectuals but is rejected because he is unable to imitate their pretentious poetic style.
Both lead actors later committed suicide in real life, Hancock in 1968 and Sanders in 1972.
In 2002, the London Institute of 'Pataphysics organised an exhibition based around the recreation of all the art works seen the film and presented the exhibition as if it were a retrospective of a real unknown artist called Anthony Hancock.
Cast
- Tony HancockTony HancockAnthony John "Tony" Hancock was an English actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Hancock was born in Southam Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, England, but from the age of three was brought up in Bournemouth, where his father, John Hancock, who ran the Railway Hotel in...
...Anthony Hancock - George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
...Sir Charles Broward - Paul MassiePaul MassiePaul Massie was a Canadian actor and academic. He later became a theater professor at the University of South Florida in the 1970s...
...Paul - Margit SaadMargit SaadMargit Saad is a German actress who has worked largely in German film and television but has also made occasional English-language appearances. She was born in Munich, Bavaria in 1929 and made her screen debut in Eva erbt das Paradies...
...Margot - Grégoire AslanGrégoire AslanGrégoire Aslan was an Armenian actor.Born Krikor Aslanian in Switzerland or in Constantinople, according to different sources, Aslan made his professional debut at 18 as a vocalist and drummer with a Paris dance band, then launched an acting career under the name of Koko Aslan. His first film...
...Carreras - Dennis PriceDennis PriceDennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
...Jim Smith - Irene HandlIrene Handl-Life:Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the daughter of an Austrian banker father and French mother. She took to acting at the relatively advanced age of 36, and studied at the acting school run by the sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike...
...Mrs. Crevatte - John Le MesurierJohn Le MesurierJohn Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
...Office manager - Liz FraserLiz FraserLiz Fraser is an English actress, mainly in comedy roles.- Life and career :Her birthdate is usually attributed as 1933, the year she gave when auditioning for her role in I'm All Right Jack, as the Boulting Brothers wanted someone younger for the part...
...Waitress - Nanette NewmanNanette Newman-Early life:Newman was born in Northampton, England. She was educated at Sternhold College, the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts stage school and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.-Career:...
...Josey - Mervyn JohnsMervyn JohnsMervyn Johns was a Welsh film and television character actor. He was a mainstay of Ealing Studios.Among his dozens of film roles were Walter Craig in Dead of Night , the Church Warden in Went the Day Well? and Bob Cratchit in Scrooge...
...Manager of Art Gallery - Peter BullPeter BullPeter Cecil Bull, DSC was a British character actor.- Biography :He was the fourth and youngest son of Hammersmith MP Sir William James Bull, 1st Bt..Bull was educated at Winchester College...
...Manager of Art Gallery - Oliver ReedOliver ReedOliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
...Artist in Cafe - Mario FabriziMario FabriziMario Fabrizi was an English comedian and actor of Italian descent active in Britain in the 1950s and early 1960s....
...Coffee Bar attendant
- Screenplay by: Ray Galton, Alan Simpson
- Directed by: Robert Day
- Photography: Gilbert TaylorGilbert TaylorGilbert Taylor, B.S.C. , is a cinematographer.After six years service during World War II as an officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, he became an Operational Cameraman flying in Avro Lancaster bombers, documenting the damage after British bombing raids.He worked on a number of films...
Quotes
On Mrs. Crevatte seeing one of Hancock's pictures on the wall:- Mrs. Crevatte; What's this 'orrible thing?
- Hancock; That, is a self-portrait.
- Mrs. Crevatte; Who of?
On Mrs. Crevatte first encountering Hancock's Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
at the Waterhole
- Mrs. Crevatte; Here, have you been having models up here - have there been naked women in my establishment?
- Hancock; Of course there haven't. I can't afford thirty-bobShillingThe shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
an hour. I did that from memory. That is women as I see them. - Mrs. Crevatte; Oh! ... You poor man!
The abstract expressionist painting scene:
- Hancock:" It's worth 2000 quid of anybody's money that is!"