THE FILM
FILM DIRECTOR: Ted Kotcheff
SCREENWRITER: Mordecai Richler
FILM STARS: Laurence Harvey, Jean Simmons, Honor Blackman, Michael Craig, Donald Wolfit, Robert Morley, Margaret Johnston, Ambrosine Phillpotts, Nigel Davenport
COUNTRY: Great Britain
THIS BOOK
AUTHOR: John Brain
TYPE: Novel
PUBLISHER: Penguin
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED: 1966
COUNTRY: Great Britain
COVER: Paperback
THE ORIGINAL BOOK
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: As Above
YEAR FIRST PUBLISHED: 1962
ORIGINAL BOOK TITLE: The film title
NOTES
GENRE: Drama
WORDS: The sequel in novel and film to “Room at the Top” by John Brain. Laurence Harvey again returns as the central character. The film is good, though not as striking as the first film. In “Room at the Top”, Joe Lampton escapes his working-class background through seduction and marriage of the daughter of a wealthy mill owner. Ten or so years later he is at “the top” … a successful young executive, with two kids, a luxurious suburban house, white Jaguar car but it’s not the dream he thought it was. There is a lot of perceptiveness going on here. A quite underrated film and Harvey is perfect (as is Jean Simmonds now playing his wife (Heather Sears played the character in the first film)) , though not applauded, as usual. I haven’t read the novel.
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