The cliche goes that the funniest comedy goes hand in hand with tragedy. Hancock's tragedy is that he wasn't satisfied with an early '60's TV audience in the squillions, wasn't satisfied with the collaboration of the best comic actors and writers of his generation, and plainly wasn't satisfied with anything, even national treasurehood. That was the core of his comic character as well as of his own nature.
This was his second attempt at the big screen after 'The Punch And Judy Man'. The story is of a desperately bored office clerk who labours under the belief that he's a great painter and sculptor. All he has is the gift of the gab.
The problem with the film (for me), even though it's mostly very funny - Irene Handl steals it as Hancock's landlady - is that Hancock doesn't have anyone in it (apart from Irene Handl) who plays the Sid James sidekick role of trying, and always failing, to deflate his pomposity. The result is that Hancock clearly takes himself too seriously, doing various would-be Chaplin, wannabe Tati routines. Genius? Too much like hard work.
I'm afraid also that Paul Massie was obviously under instruction to play it completely straight, ie 'don't try to be Sid', so that his pivotal character is forgettable, and the lovely Margit Saad, who attempts to seduce Hancock the artist, just seems to scare him.
Spot Oliver Reed as a struggling artist. Good luck finding it, it's worth a watch.
This was his second attempt at the big screen after 'The Punch And Judy Man'. The story is of a desperately bored office clerk who labours under the belief that he's a great painter and sculptor. All he has is the gift of the gab.
The problem with the film (for me), even though it's mostly very funny - Irene Handl steals it as Hancock's landlady - is that Hancock doesn't have anyone in it (apart from Irene Handl) who plays the Sid James sidekick role of trying, and always failing, to deflate his pomposity. The result is that Hancock clearly takes himself too seriously, doing various would-be Chaplin, wannabe Tati routines. Genius? Too much like hard work.
I'm afraid also that Paul Massie was obviously under instruction to play it completely straight, ie 'don't try to be Sid', so that his pivotal character is forgettable, and the lovely Margit Saad, who attempts to seduce Hancock the artist, just seems to scare him.
Spot Oliver Reed as a struggling artist. Good luck finding it, it's worth a watch.