The Rebel, 1961

In this session we watched the film ‘The Rebel, 1961’ is a ironic comedy starring the British comedian Tony Hancock, and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.

Hancock plays a downtrodden office clerk in London, who fancies himself as an artist. He becomes so fed up of his dull office job and moaning landlady, he decides to up and leave England for Paris. There he sets to work on his masterpiece Aphrodite at the Waterhole. Hancock believes that the artists and critics of Paris will appreciate his work and ideas more than anyone. While his "ideas" and persona do gain acceptance among the legitimate art critics, like Sir Charles Broward, (George Sanders), he manages to achieve success. However, the work that Sir Charles and the others are gawking over, isn‘t actually Hancock‘s, it is his ex flat-mate‘s, who left Paris because his work was not getting him any kind of success. The misunderstanding is eventually resolved after a series of art exhibitions, where Hancock finally confesses all. This doesn’t dampen his spirits and he decides to return to London and peruse his art career, with the help of his once pessimistic landlady.

The film pokes fun at the way art lovers and critics etc, dream up ideas of what artists should actually be like. Hancock is made out to be some kind of tortured soul, expressing his dark and deep emotions, when really he is this light hearted character that wants to make it in the art world with his “child-like” paintings and sculptures.

In September 2002 the London Institute of ‘Pataphysics organized an exhibition at The Foundry, Old Street, London based around the recreation of all the artworks seen in the film and presented the exhibition as if it were an exhibition belonging to this unknown artists Tony Hancock.

Some of my favourite quotes from the film:

Hancock: “I‘m an impressionist!”

Landlady: “Well it don‘t impress me!”

Landlady: “What the hell is that?”

Hancock: “It‘s a self portrait!”

Landlady: “Of who?!”

Flat-mate: “It (Hancock‘s work) has a childlike quality”

Hancock: “Of course it does! I paint like a child, children see the truth”