Room at the Top (1959)

An ambitious young accountant plots to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter, despite falling in love with a married older woman.

Director:

Jack Clayton

Writers:

Neil Paterson (screenplay), John Braine (adapted from the novel by)

Stars:

Laurence Harvey, Simone Signoret, Heather Sears

Won 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Simone Signoret	...	Alice Aisgill
Laurence Harvey	...	Joe Lampton
Heather Sears	...	Susan Brown
Donald Wolfit	...	Mr. Brown
Donald Houston	...	Charles Soames
Hermione Baddeley	...	Elspeth
Allan Cuthbertson	...	George Aisgill
Raymond Huntley	...	Mr. Hoylake
John Westbrook	...	Jack Wales
Ambrosine Phillpotts	...	Mrs. Brown
Richard Pasco	...	Teddy
Beatrice Varley	...	Aunt
Delena Kidd	...	Eva
Ian Hendry	...	Cyril
April Olrich	...	Mavis

Storyline

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

angry young man | accountant | british new wave | dominatrix | unwed pregnancy | 

---

Taglines:

A Motion Picture So Frankly Physical...So Boldly Unashamed...We Recommend It to Adult Audiences Only!

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1959 (UK)

Also Known As:

Der Weg nach oben

Filming Locations:

Halifax Railway Station, Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£280,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,400,000, 31 December 1959

Company Credits

Production Co:

Romulus Films, Remus

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The honoring of leftist French actress Simone Signoret with an Oscar led veteran right wing columnist Hedda Hopper to resign from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

---

Goofs

It should be noted that the book was first published in 1957 in the UK. It was meant to depict the post-war class, social and economic structures still in place across Britain. In the novel the narrator is looking back at events that happened a decade earlier.

---

Quotes

[last lines]
Susan Brown: Joe, wasn't it absolutely the most wonderful wedding? Now we really belong to each other, till death us do part. Darling, you're crying! I believe you really are sentimental after all.

---

Connections

Followed by Man at the Top: Join the Human Race (1971)

---

Soundtracks

The Wedding March
(uncredited)
Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Arranged by Lambert Williamson

User Reviews

Signoret, smoking

Loneliness and longing in this extraordinary, ageless masterpiece. The film is dominated by the phenomenal Simone Signoret and I got dizzy looking at her beautifully complicated face. Laurence Harvey's petulance works wonders here and Jack Clayton, the director, orchestrates a soap opera for the thinking man. Everythings rings true even the most unbelievable details. The older woman syndrome is so masterfully captured here that, at times, you want to look away because the truth in Signoret's eyes is piercing as she sexily smokes her cigarette blowing the smoke right at us. I'm just rambling I know, my intention is to wet your appetite. Another extra bonus is the superb performance by Hermione Baddely, renamed by Noel Coward as Miss Gooddely. A total must!