Lowly office worker Anthony Hancock (Tony Hancock) escapes the rat race and moves to Paris in the hope of becoming recognised as a great artist - which he does, but not in the way he had planned.
The Rebel is basically a spin-off from Hancock's Half Hour, the radio and television series that shot Hancock to fame. It was written by his long-time collaborators Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and is probably a film that shows him at somewhere near to his best.
In the film, Hancock has the soul of a great artist trapped in the body of a mediocre man. As always, he has ideas that far outweigh his abilities, but once he gets to Paris he finds something that his character never found on TV - acceptance of his grand ideals.
Of course, it's acceptance by people who are as equally pretentious as he is - the film has a noticeable element of the Great British Public's suspicion of all things artistic. So the creative types tend to have half a moustache or blue hair, or are taken in by Hancock's terrible paintings and the way he bluffs his way through highbrow conversations. The real talent (Paul Massie) goes unnoticed because these people are so easily fooled.
While it has a few good laughs, The Rebel doesn't really compare to Hancock's TV and radio series. He's at his best in more mundane surroundings than Paris or Monte Carlo; in fact, the first part would make a decent Hancock's Half Hour. Where's Sid James when we need him? It's better than The Punch and Judy Man, though. Also with: Oliver Reed in a bit part; an action painting Tony Hart would be proud of; and a couple of cows. Music by Frank Cordell.
