LIFE AT THE TOP has the perks of money and position but they’re not enough to satisfy reactively acidic and perennially insecure ‘Joe Lampton’ (Laurence Harvey) in this bleak yet surprisingly well-done 1965 sequel to the 1959 classic Room At The Top, which had kicked off Britain’s raft of ‘kitchen sink’ dramas, won Simone Signoret an Oscar, and made Harvey a star. Three years after it came out its author John Braine published a sequel, then three more years after that came this movie adaptation, scripted by Mordecai Richler, who’d helped write the earlier film. Ted Kotcheff directed. We’re clued in early about Joe and ‘Room‘ when someone snarks that “He was clever enough to knock-up the boss’s daughter in days gone by. And that, mate, is real social security.”

It’s ten years after we left Joe Lampton, poised and poisoned closer to ‘the top’ of the heap in the British factory town of ‘Warnley’, married to the daughter of ‘Abe Brown’ (Donald Wolfit, back from the earlier movie), industrial bigwig and town mayor. Up from nothing, Joe works for Abe, drives a Jaguar and lives in a comfortable estate with his wife ‘Susan’ (Jean Simmons) and their two young, spoiled children. Except for their little girl, no-one is happy. Joe and Susan bicker constantly and engage in affairs, Susan with Joe’s married friend ‘Mark’ (Michael Craig), Joe with TV host ‘Norah Hauxley’ (Honor Blackman). Numbing security on one end, possible escape on the other, with a chance at politics thrown in by his domineering father-in-law, Joe has crucial decisions to make.

“What would we do all day sitting in the sun? Talk to each other?”

It takes a while to engage, but as the arguments sharpen and characterizations deepen, the relentlessly grim drama draws you in; the acting is excellent. Room At The Top saw Harvey Oscar-nominated, and playing bitter, or at least harsh, characters was his go-to strong suit (The Alamo, BUtterfield 8, The Manchurian Candidate, The Running Man); he updates Joe’s trap-caught dilemmas quite well. Simmons, 36, replaced Heather Sears from the first movie and is keen-edged, although she’s innately more glamorous than Sears (Susan was a mousy part). Goldfinger had just zoomed Blackman, 39, from national familiarity (Brit TVs The Avengers) to international immortality (“I must be dreaming“) but regrettably 007 fame didn’t result in many good roles afterwards. She’s smart and compelling here’ any chance to watch Honor act is a pleasure.

While we’ll always see Michael Craig as the stalwart leader of the castaways from Mysterious Island, it’s rewarding to watch him in a nuanced role in this picture. Wolfit blusters as required, and there’s a cherry-picked role for Robert Morley as ‘Titfield’, a self-bemused businessman who teases Joe with a career switch.

JOE: “You can’t expect me to start at the bottom again at my age.”   NORAH: “Why not? This time you might rise from your own ability.”   JOE: “What if I haven’t got any?”

Harvey co-starred in another harsh drama that year, Darling, which was a big critical and financial hit (and a downer as far as enjoyment goes) but we think Life At The Top has more resonance. Reviews were mixed and attendance in the States was sparse, $1,500,000 and 114th place.

Be glad you don’t have to pick between Jean Simmons and Honor Blackman, although weighing the pros and cons wouldn’t exactly constitute hard labor. With Margaret Johnston, Allan Cuthbertson (in full snide, back from the earlier film), Ambrosine Phillpotts (also repeating her 1959 role, sniping from the sidelines), Nigel Davenport, Geoffrey Bayldon and David Oxley. Edward Fox, 28, has an uncredited bit. 117 minutes.