‘Unfailing ability to cheer me up': why The Rebel is my feelgood movie
For me, memorable and/or uplifting film experiences tend to be around individual moments – the resurrection scene in The Matrix for example, or Dizzy's 'I got to have you' in Starship Troopers. (Do either really hold a candle to Mel Brooks's A Little Piece of Poland number in the To Be Or Not to Be remake? The jury is still out.) But without wanting to sound like either a retro bore or a they-don't-make-'em-like-they-used-to fuddy-duddy, I turn to Tony Hancock's yuk-heavy feature vehicle from 1961 for its unfailing ability to cheer me up.
I think I must have first watched it in the 1980s on TV, after my dad solemnly recited one of the film's great moments, when Hancock offers a hunk of cheese to a blue-lipsticked beatnik Nanette Newman and says, with a sort of slack-jawed terror: 'You do eat food?' Newman, as it happens, is perhaps The Rebel's most amazing sight: otherwise known as the apparently-prim English star of the first Stepford Wives movie, a middlebrow popular-culture staple in the UK for her washing-up liquid TV commercials, she is tricked out here in a fantastic exi get-up – dead-white face paint, Nefertiti eyeliner, lank copper-coloured hairdo – at almost the exact same moment in time that the Beatles were being talked into ditching their teddy boy quiff.
The Rebel in fact is stuffed with great moments: Hancock's opposite-platform ruse to get a seat on a packed commuter train (no longer even theoretically possible, sadly); Hancock appalling waitress Liz Fraser by refusing 'frothy' coffee; Oliver Reed glowering in a Parisian cafe as he argues about art, of all things; and Hancock's epic action-painting sequence complete with bicycle and cow. And of course, the chef's kiss: the exquisite moment when connoisseur critic George Sanders chortles dismissively about Hancock's 'infantile school' picture of a foot ('Who painted that – the cow?')
US readers might know the film as Call Me Genius, as that reportedly was the title it was released under there, but quite possibly they won't know it at all; Hancock, acclaimed in Britain, never made headway in Hollywood or on US TV. But the alternative title is actually as accurate a summary of the film as the original one; although the script (by Hancock confreres Galton and Simpson) appears to mock the pretensions of the art world, its target is really the delusional nature of Hancock's Walter Mitty-ish office drone, who ends up back in his suburban bedsit after a meteoric rise and fall in Paris's avant-garde circles.
It's a character that draws fully on the persona that Hancock had made his own over the preceding decade: the intellectually ambitious but unfailingly thwarted nobody, hanging on like grim death for better times around the corner but fatalistically resigned to submergence in a tidal wave of mediocrity. I can't think of any equivalent in the US; Hancock is, I sense, far too defeated and self-pitying a figure ever to command a giant audience. George Costanza is probably the closest, but Hancock has little of Costanza's frenzied self-hate.
Well, there is something rather wonderful about seeing Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock in full and living colour, operating at the height of his powers, the man who his writers described as 'the best comic actor in the business'. And of course the film is a wonderful portal to a vanished world, a net-curtained Britain just on the cusp of its transformation by 60s pop culture. Lucian Freud called The Rebel the best film ever made about modern art; well, he should know, but for me it's more than that – there's an extra joy in remembering the hours I spent tittering at it with Dad as we lolled on the three-piece suite back in my gormless teenage years. If anything makes me feel good, it's that.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
18 hours ago
- The Sun
How Sabrina Carpenter's ex Barry Keoghan has reacted as she publicly shames him again with her most explicit song yet
DRESSED in barely there hotpants and bareless with just a white shirt on, Sabrina Carpenter took aim at ex Barry Keoghan once again. In a savage swipe she sings 'Man-child / Why you always come a-running to me? / F**k my life / Won't you let an innocent woman be?' , clearly aimed at the actor, who she split with December of last year. 8 But how does Barry, 32, feel about the latest public shaming? Insiders close to the star have confirmed he is completely unphased, saying: 'If anything Barry is very amused that he's the centre of the song, but he's got bigger things to concentrate on.' While Sabrina is sparking outrage for latest album cover, Barry is in 'Beatles bootcamp' as he prepares for the biggest role of his career. He is playing Ringo Starr in a film series on the Fab Four and has spent the past three months getting stuck in. Barry explained: 'We've been in full camp for like 16 or 17 weeks now. "It's just an absolute joy. The camp is like bootcamp and it's a place where you have time and you try things. 'For Ringo, you get to approach the walk, the accent, play around with the face. "It's a place of failing, a place of learning and trying. That's the process I'm in now. It's a playground for me.' The insider revealed: 'Barry has given up booze and partying to get into the role. Sabrina Carpenter's new hit music video 'Manchild 'It could win him an Oscar and Barry has his sights on true greatness, so is making sure no distractions get in his way.' The star has also removed himself from social media - avoiding the endless trolling from Sabrina fans. The insider added: "It's been the perfect way to get over a break up." Discussing his sober journey, Barry said: 'I will always try and do better. I am always looking to elevate. My approach to The Beatles movie is entirely different to anything I have ever done. 'Being sober has now allowed me artistically to go down a constructive way and kind of bring back emotions and control. Rather than be erratic. There is a whole new approach to it. I am happy when I reach certain things. We are always looking to say more. I am proud of my work and my legacy but I think that is just starting.' 8 8 Barry split from dental nurse Alyson Kierans last July after also rowing about his partying and flirting with another woman. The couple share two-year-old son Brando. He then struck up a romance with Sabrina, but the Hollywood power couple split last year, with sources blaming their busy work schedules at the time. Just a few months before The Sun on Sunday revealed Barry had been dumped by Sabrina for the first time after she grew tired of his party lifestyle. A source said at the time: 'Barry acts like an idiot when he is drunk and Sabrina was getting increasingly frustrated. 'He has always been a party animal and Sabrina was fed up with his antics. She is soaring in the charts and is putting herself first as she gears up for her tour next month.' 8 8 Sabrina previously released the single Please Please Please, which sees her sing about a boyfriend damaging her reputation. And she once again took aim at him with her the track from her new album, which has sparked ferocious debate. While the former Disney Channel star has been praised in the past for 'owning' her sexuality in a feminist way, it seems this latest display has gone too far for many. One fan on X labelled it 'straight-up Pornhub fantasy', while a domestic violence charity issued a statement saying: 'Sabrina Carpenter's album cover isn't edgy, it's regressive.' Others have slammed her decision to once again sing about Barry and have compared her to Taylor Swift, who has made sure no past relationship is sacred. It's a stark difference from a few months ago when the Princess of pop could do no wrong and the fans were turning on Barry. It seems Barry really has taken inspiration from The Beatles and in this case has decided to 'let it be'. 8 8
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Paul Mescal spotted on date with Gracie Abrams ahead of her Glastonbury set next week
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IT seems that actor Paul Mescal and singer Gracie Abrams are enjoying some low-key dates before heading to Glastonbury Festival next week. I can reveal that the pair have been making the most of the heatwave in London by having picnics in North London's Highbury Fields this week. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Paul and Gracie have been spotted making the most of the heatwave in London Credit: Sun On Sunday 4 The couple were spotted on a picnic in a park in London Credit: Sun On Sunday 4 Gracie will play Glastonbury next week Credit: Getty An onlooker said: 'Paul and Gracie were definitely making the most of the warm weather by hanging out with pals in the park. 'Paul was bounding around the park and clearly loving the long summer nights. 'But it was a bit awkward when Paul forgot his bottle opener and had to ask a nearby group if he could use one to open his drink. 'They looked super loved-up and Paul couldn't resist taking a picture of the sunset on his phone to capture the moment.' More on Paul Mescal PAUL'S CROWN & OUT Emma Corrin stuns in sheer dress at VIP dinner with star Paul Mescal Gracie is set to play the Other Stage at Glasto next week - and it looks like her No1 supporter will be her boyfriend Paul. The couple were first linked in June 2024 when they were snapped having a romantic dinner date at celebrity haunt BRAT Restaurant in London. Their picnics and drinks in the park come after Paul was ordered to lose some muscle and put on some fat for his next role. Paul will play Sir Paul McCartney in the upcoming Beatles biopic - and The Sun recently revealed the hunky Gladiator II star has been told to go on a Normal People diet. An insider said: "Obviously there weren't really gyms around in the Sixties. 'The Beatles weren't dead-lifting between gigs. The New Beatles Biopic Movies: Star-Studded Cast Revealed 'Macca was always pretty lean and flexible — he has always been really into yoga — but this is a very different aesthetic to that of a burly gladiator, and Paul has been keeping his body pretty ripped, even after filming stopped. 'Sir Paul McCartney is also famously a vegetarian, whereas Paul mainly lives on a high protein steak, chicken and eggs diet. 'There also weren't whey protein shakes back in the Beatles' day."
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Paul Mescal spotted on date with Gracie Abrams ahead of her Glastonbury set next week
IT seems that actor Paul Mescal and singer Gracie Abrams are enjoying some low-key dates before heading to Glastonbury Festival next week. I can reveal that the pair have been making the most of the heatwave in London by having picnics in North London's Highbury Fields this week. 4 An onlooker said: ' Paul and Gracie were definitely making the most of the warm weather by hanging out with pals in the park. 'Paul was bounding around the park and clearly loving the long summer nights. 'But it was a bit awkward when Paul forgot his bottle opener and had to ask a nearby group if he could use one to open his drink. 'They looked super loved-up and Paul couldn't resist taking a picture of the sunset on his phone to capture the moment.' Gracie is set to play the Other Stage at Glasto next week - and it looks like her No1 supporter will be her boyfriend Paul. The couple were first linked in June 2024 when they were snapped having a romantic dinner date at celebrity haunt BRAT Restaurant in London. Their picnics and drinks in the park come after Paul was ordered to lose some muscle and put on some fat for his next role. Paul will play Sir Paul McCartney in the upcoming Beatles biopic - and The Sun recently revealed the hunky Gladiator II star has been told to go on a Normal People diet. An insider said: "Obviously there weren't really gyms around in the Sixties. 'The Beatles weren't dead-lifting between gigs. The New Beatles Biopic Movies: Star-Studded Cast Revealed 'Macca was always pretty lean and flexible — he has always been really into yoga — but this is a very different aesthetic to that of a burly gladiator, and Paul has been keeping his body pretty ripped, even after filming stopped. 'Sir Paul McCartney is also famously a vegetarian, whereas Paul mainly lives on a high protein steak, chicken and eggs diet. 'There also weren't whey protein shakes back in the Beatles' day."
