Main Cast: Laurence Harvey, Jean Simmons, Honor Blackman, Michael Craig, Donald Wolfit
Release Year: 1965
Country: UK
Run Time: 117 minutes
Plot
Life at the Top is a belated sequel to Room at the Top, John Blaine's "angry young man" British novel that was made into a film in 1959. Laurence Harvey is back as Joe Lampton, the man-on-the-rise protagonist who in Room had given up true love in favor of a career-boosting (and antiseptic) marriage to his boss' daughter. Ten years have passed: Lampton is a business success, but utterly bored by his dead-end marital setup. His wife feels the same, and it isn't long before Mr. and Mrs. Lampton begin conducting separate affairs. While the original Room was a fairly accurate evocation of its era, Life at the Top works too hard and too noisily to be "mod," in reflection of the ethereal Swinging London era. The inclusion of flashbacks from Room at the Top, in which Harvey is seen making love to Simone Signoret, only serves to emphasize the shortcomings of the sequel. The best moments in the later version can be found in the early establishing scenes set in Yorkshire. Life at the Top was followed by a TV series called Man at the Top, starring Kenneth Haigh as Lampton, which in turn was followed by a theatrical feature of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Definitely a lesser effort than Room at the Top, Life at the Top is nevertheless an effective and fairly powerful film; indeed, if one is unfamiliar with the earlier film, one will probably find Life pretty absorbing. For those who know Room well, however, too much of Life seems like a re-tread. Lampton has ended up pretty much where one would have expected him, and the things that happen to him are pretty much what would be expected. As a result, there are not enough surprises in Life, a situation which is not helped by the screenplay's stringing together of episodes that are intended to build in intensity but fail to quite do so. Still, there are some impressive individual sequences, and Ted Kotcheff directs with skill and a degree of imagination. Life's biggest asset, however, is its cast, especially star Laurence Harvey, whose work here is easily among his finest; indeed, Harvey finds more layers and nuances in Life than in Room, which is saying a lot. Donald Wolfit is again both despicable but interesting, and Jean Simmons mines her character's unsympathetic qualities to good effect. Throw in a sly and seductive Honor Blackman and a cold and calculating Michael Craig, and Life at the Top crosses over into the winner's circle. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Robert Morley - Tiffield; Margaret Johnston - Sybil; Ambrosine Phillpotts - Mrs. Brown; Allan Cuthbertson - George Aisgill; Paul Martin - Harry; Frances Cosslett - Barbara; Ian Shand - Hethersett; George A. Cooper - Graffham; Nigel Davenport - Mottram; Andrew Laurence - McLelland; Geoffrey Bayldon - Industrial Psychologist; Denis Quilley - Ben; Charles Lamb - Wincastle; Michael Newport - Newspaper Boy; Richard Leech - Doctor; Ingrid Anthofer - Stripper; Harry Fowler - Magic Beans Man; David Oxley - Tim; Paul Whitsun-Jones - Keatley
Credit
Edward Marshall - Art Director, William Kirby - Associate Producer, Beatrice Dawson - Costume Designer, Kip Gowans - First Assistant Director, Ted Kotcheff - Director, Derek York - Editor, Richard Addinsell - Composer (Music Score), Marcus Dods - Musical Direction/Supervision, George Frost - Makeup, Brian West - Camera Operator, Oswald Morris - Cinematographer, Charles Blair - Production Manager, John Woolf - Producer, James Woolf - Producer, David Ffolkes - Set Designer, Mordecai Richler - Screenwriter, John Braine - Book Author
"Joe Lampton (Laurence Harvey) is unhappily married and forced to work at a job handed to him on a plate by his father-in-law. T.V. presenter Norah (Honor Blackman) offers him escape which, following his wife's own infidelity, he leaps at, only for things to come crashing down around his ears. Bureaucracy, class, office gossip and English politics all have a part to play (look out for a great cameo from Catweazle, Geoffrey Bayldon)." [1]
