''Life at the Top'' is a 1965 British drama film, a production of Romulus Films released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. The

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

was by

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...

, based on the 1962 novel ''

Life at the Top ''Life At The Top'' is the third novel by the English author John Braine, first published in the UK by Eyre & Spottiswoode Eyre & Spottiswoode was the London-based printing firm that was the King's Printer, and subsequently, a publisher prior ...

'' by

John Braine John Gerard Braine (13 April 1922 – 28 October 1986) was an English novelist. Braine is usually listed among the angry young men, a loosely defined group of English writers who emerged on the literary scene in the 1950s. Biography John Brain ...

, and is a sequel to the film '' Room at the Top'' (1959). It was directed by

Ted Kotcheff William Theodore Kotcheff (born April 7, 1931) is a Bulgarian-Canadian film and television director, writer and producer, known primarily for his work on British and American television productions such as ''Armchair Theatre'' and '' Law & Order ...

and produced by

James Woolf Sir John Woolf (15 March 1913, London – 28 June 1999, London) and his brother James Woolf (2 March 1920, London – 30 May 1966, Beverly Hills, California) were British film producers. John and James founded the production companies Romulus Fil ...

, with William Kirby as associate producer. The music score was by

Richard Addinsell Richard Stewart Addinsell (13 January 190414 November 1977) was an English composer, best known for film music, primarily his '' Warsaw Concerto'', composed for the 1941 film '' Dangerous Moonlight'' (also known under the later title ''Suicide S ...

and the cinematography by

Oswald Morris Oswald Norman Morris, (22 November 1915 – 17 March 2014) was a British cinematographer. Known to his colleagues by the nicknames "Os" or "Ossie", Morris's career in cinematography spanned six decades. Life and career Morris was raised in Mi ...

. The film's art director, Edward Marshall, received a 1966

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

nomination. The film stars

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in th ...

, once again playing Joe Lampton, with Jean Simmons,

Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58. (1962� ...

and Michael Craig. Four actors reprised their roles from ''Room at the Top'': Harvey,

Donald Wolfit Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE (born Donald Woolfitt; Harwood, Ronald"Wolfit, Sir Donald (1902–1968)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008; accessed 14 July 2009 20 April 1902 ...

Ambrosine Phillpotts Ambrosine Phillpotts (13 September 1912 – 12 October 1980) was a British actress of theatre, TV, radio and film. ''The Times'' wrote, "She was one of the last great stage aristocrats, a stylish comedienne best known for playing on stage an ...

and

Allan Cuthbertson Allan Darling Cuthbertson (7 April 1920 – 8 February 1988) was an Australian-born British actor. He was best known for playing stern-faced military officers in British films of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Cuthbertson was born in Perth, W ...

Background

In '' Room at the Top'', Joe Lampton's escape from his working-class background through his seduction of, and marriage to, the daughter of a wealthy mill owner had been portrayed. Ten years on, Joe is living the dream of the successful young executive, complete with luxurious

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

house, white S-type

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

, and two young children. However, Joe's life is not the dream it appears to be.

Plot

Joe's father-in-law, Abe Brown, is the mayor of the town, and mill owner (Illingworths, Thornton Rd,

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

). To Joe's disapproval, Abe insists on sending Joe's children to a private boarding school. Joe's son is also unhappy about this and when Joe invites in the paper-boy in for a cup of tea, his son looks jealously on. Joe goes to a sherry party with his wife, but would rather be in the pub. The party is in the huge house of his father-in-law. There he meets Norah. Joe says goodbye to his son at the railway station. Later that night at his in-laws, rather than himself, choose which carpet will be in Joe's house. Joe no longer makes love to his wife and she is having an affair with Joe's married friend. Joe goes to the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...

in London with his friend for lunch with Tiffield. After Tiffield leaves they go to a strip show and the friend discusses dodgy business deals. Joe meets George Aisgill and they discuss how Joe caused the death of his wife, but he has a new love - Norah. Joe goes home wearing a

Huckleberry Hound Huckleberry "Huck" Hound is a fictional cartoon character, a blue anthropomorphic coonhound that speaks with a North Carolina Southern drawl. He first appeared in the series ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. The cartoon was one of six TV shows to ...

mask and finds signs of another man being in the house. He hears the other man in the bedroom with his wife but does not enter. He is sitting downstairs when they come down for a drink.

Cast

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Life At The Top (Film) 1965 films 1965 drama films British drama films British black-and-white films Columbia Pictures films Films based on works by John Braine Films directed by Ted Kotcheff British sequel films Films set in Yorkshire Films scored by Richard Addinsell Films based on British novels 1960s English-language films 1960s British films

Background

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links