Room At The Top (1959)

Set in 1950's Yorkshire, 'Room at the Top' follows upwardly mobile young Joe Lampton (Laurence Harvey), who arrives in Warnley from the dreary northern factory town of Dufton. Setting his sights on Susan Brown (Heather Sears), feted daughter of the local big shot, the crafty young bounder will do almost anything to get what he wants. But along the way Lampton becomes entangled with unhappily married Frenchwoman Alice (Simone Signoret), and when Susan arrives back from her sojourn in the South of France matters take a turn for the worse. While on the face of it he seems to have achieved everything he wanted, Joe seems increasingly likely to end up with nothing at all..

Marking the beginning of director Jack Clayton's esteemed career, 'Room at the Top' is seminal in British film, and Signoret in particular should be exalted for her captivating performance as the downtrodden but fiery older woman. Gritty, realistic and racy for its time (its overtly sexual content won the film an 'X' rating), 'Room at the Top' is engaging watching and a landmark in the British New Wave of cinema.

Director: Jack Clayton
Starring: Simone Signoret, Laurence Harvey, Heather Sears, Donald Wolfit, Donald Houston, Hermione Baddeley, Allan Cuthbertson, Raymond Huntley, John Westbrook, Ambrosine Phillpotts, Richard Pasco, Beatrice Varley, Delena Kidd & Ian Hendry
Certificate: 12A
Runtime: 112 minutes (approx)
Special Features:
Release date: 26 January 2009
RRP: £14.99

Georgina Vincent