Joe Lampton thought he had really made it by marrying the boss's daughter in his northern mill town. But he finds he is being sidelined at work and his private life manipulated by his ... See full summary »
Director:
Ted Kotcheff
Stars:
Laurence Harvey,
Jean Simmons,
Honor Blackman
Film screenwriter Jake Armitage and his wife Jo Armitage live in London with six of Jo's eight children, with the two eldest boys at boarding school. The children are spread over Jo's three... See full summary »
Despite success on the field, a rising rugby star senses the emerging emptiness of his life as his inner angst begins to materialize through aggression and brutality, so he attempts to woo his landlady in hopes of finding reason to live.
A juvenile offender at a tough reform school impresses its governor with his running ability and is encouraged to compete in an upcoming race, but faces ridicule from his peers.
Director:
Tony Richardson
Stars:
Michael Redgrave,
Tom Courtenay,
Avis Bunnage
In an open-air dance hall, the members of Leca's gang are relaxing with their ladies. One of them, Marie, aka "Casque d'Or" (Golden Helmet) meets Manda, a carpenter. Her man Roland belongs ... See full summary »
Director:
Jacques Becker
Stars:
Simone Signoret,
Serge Reggiani,
Claude Dauphin
The English factory town is dreary but Joe Lampton has landed a job with a future. To have something to do at night he joins a theatrical group. His boss's daughter Susan is playing ingenue roles on stage and in real life. She is attracted to Joe and Joe thinks about how much faster he will get ahead if he is the boss's son-in-law. This plan is complicated by his strong desire to be with an older woman who also belongs to the theatrical group. She is French and unhappily married. Joe believes he can get away with seeing both women. Written by
Dale O'Connor <daleoc@interaccess,com>
There was some opposition to the casting of Laurence Harvey, as he could not do a realistic northern accent. In addition there was some concern that audiences in the UK might not accept the Jewish Harvey as Joe Lampton. See more »
Goofs
The story takes place in 1947, but all the women's fashions and hairstyles are strictly in the contemporary 1958 mode, when the film went before the cameras. See more »
Quotes
Mr. Brown:
Don't worry about the way the world's run, lad. Enjoy it while you're young.
See more »
This film hasn't lost any of its bitter bite since it debuted in 1959. Laurence Harvey plays an ambitious young man who leaves a squalid industrial town somewhere in England for a good job in a nicer city. He immediately makes friends in the office and joins an amateur theater group when he learns that a pretty rich girl (Heather Sears) is a member. He also meets an older French woman (Simone Signoret) who is also a member.
He starts an affair with the older woman while he blatantly pursues the rich girl, much to the dismay of her parents. Her father is a coarse but self-made man; the mother is a snooty society woman. The girl has a sort of boyfriend who constantly uses his wealthy upbringing and schooling to put Harvey "in his place." Even in post-World War II England, the "class system" is very evident. Harvey's attempts at being upwardly mobile are constantly shot down.
The girl is sent to France in an attempt to get her away from Harvey, and he falls into a torrid affair with Signoret. But he cannot get the girl (and her money) out of his head. Months go by before he runs into the girl and renews his pursuit. Of course she gets pregnant and the family relents, rushing her into marriage, an act that has bitter and surprising consequences for all involved.
Signoret won the best-actress Oscar (and just about every acting award that year) for her work here and she is magnificent. She is worldly and sad yet is not about to accept her fate. Harvey (Oscar nominated) gives his best performance as the blatant social climber. His "angry young man" is at once despicable and sympathetic. Sears scores as the naïve young woman who tries to balance her life and her parents' wishes.
Hermione Baddeley (also Oscar nominated) has a great scene toward the end of the film. She plays Signoret's friend, the one who enables their affair by lending them her apartment. Donald Wolfit is excellent as the girl's father. Ambrosine Phillpotts is good as the mother. Donald Houston, Raymond Huntley, Wilfrid Lawson, Beatrice Varley, and April Olrich are all good in smaller roles.
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This film hasn't lost any of its bitter bite since it debuted in 1959. Laurence Harvey plays an ambitious young man who leaves a squalid industrial town somewhere in England for a good job in a nicer city. He immediately makes friends in the office and joins an amateur theater group when he learns that a pretty rich girl (Heather Sears) is a member. He also meets an older French woman (Simone Signoret) who is also a member.
He starts an affair with the older woman while he blatantly pursues the rich girl, much to the dismay of her parents. Her father is a coarse but self-made man; the mother is a snooty society woman. The girl has a sort of boyfriend who constantly uses his wealthy upbringing and schooling to put Harvey "in his place." Even in post-World War II England, the "class system" is very evident. Harvey's attempts at being upwardly mobile are constantly shot down.
The girl is sent to France in an attempt to get her away from Harvey, and he falls into a torrid affair with Signoret. But he cannot get the girl (and her money) out of his head. Months go by before he runs into the girl and renews his pursuit. Of course she gets pregnant and the family relents, rushing her into marriage, an act that has bitter and surprising consequences for all involved.
Signoret won the best-actress Oscar (and just about every acting award that year) for her work here and she is magnificent. She is worldly and sad yet is not about to accept her fate. Harvey (Oscar nominated) gives his best performance as the blatant social climber. His "angry young man" is at once despicable and sympathetic. Sears scores as the naïve young woman who tries to balance her life and her parents' wishes.
Hermione Baddeley (also Oscar nominated) has a great scene toward the end of the film. She plays Signoret's friend, the one who enables their affair by lending them her apartment. Donald Wolfit is excellent as the girl's father. Ambrosine Phillpotts is good as the mother. Donald Houston, Raymond Huntley, Wilfrid Lawson, Beatrice Varley, and April Olrich are all good in smaller roles.