The Rebel

Anthony Hancock works a dull office job in London and believes himself to be an artist. One day he gives up the job, goes to Paris and decides to live as a painter. He has no talent and the critics think nothing of his work. Then a misunderstanding occurs and the art world declares him a genius. Robert Day's film is the first feature by Tony Hancock, one of the best-known comedians of British radio and television. The target is the modern art market: an arrangement in which who counts as a genius is decided not by the work but by the people around it. George Sanders and Dennis Price are in the cast. The humour comes entirely out of Hancock taking himself seriously.