Room At The Top (1959)

An ambitious young man (Laurence Harvey) from a working class background dreams of rising into the socially prominent upper class strata of society. To this end, he attempts to woo the daughter (Heather Sears) of a wealthy industrial tycoon (Donald Wolfit). But an affair with an unhappily married woman (Simone Signoret) has him conflicted when he falls in love with her. Based on the novel by John Braine and directed by Jack Clayton (THE INNOCENTS). This look at climbing the social and corporate ladder of success at whatever the cost is a powerful and beautifully structured work that arguably was the first of the "kitchen sink" dramas that marked the British new wave of the 1960s. While Signoret's heartbreaking performance is justifiably heralded (she won the Oscar and Cannes film festival best actress award), I couldn't quite buy Harvey's working class bloke. He's still too posh and the film really needed an Albert Finney or Michael Caine to render some authenticity in the part. With Hermione Baddeley (Oscar nominated even though she only has about 3 minutes of screen time), Donald Houston, Ambrosine Phillpotts, Allan Cuthbertson, Ian Hendry, Mary Peach and April Olrich.