Life at the Top

"The more they live it up the more they have to live it down!"

1965 1h 57m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 17

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Successful businessman Joe Lampton is married to the wealthy Susan, has two children, and lives in the mill town of Warley in northern England. But his career seems to have plateaued, leaving him disillusioned. This feeling is only exacerbated when he discovers his wife's infidelity with local man Mark. So he takes up with attractive TV host Norah and moves with her to London, aiming to reignite the fire that drove him to the top.

“The more they live it up the more they have to live it down!”

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Cast

Laurence Harvey
Joe Lampton
Jean Simmons
Susan Lampton
Honor Blackman
Norah Hauxley
Michael Craig
Mark
Donald Wolfit
Abe Brown
Robert Morley
Tiffield
Margaret Johnston
Sybil
Ambrosine Phillpotts
Mrs. Margaret Brown

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ted Kotcheff
Writers: Mordecai Richler
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

61 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "At The Top Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ted Kotcheff, shot by Oswald Morris. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Richard Addinsell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Derek York shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Laurence Harvey and Jean Simmons and Honor Blackman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The more they live it up the more they have to live it down!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0059389 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ted Kotcheff directs. Oswald Morris behind the camera. Richard Addinsell scores. Derek York cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

161 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "At The Top Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Ted Kotcheff, shot by Oswald Morris. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Richard Addinsell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Derek York shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Laurence Harvey and Jean Simmons and Honor Blackman carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "The more they live it up the more they have to live it down!".
8IMDB entry: tt0059389 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 17 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "adultery", "based on novel or book", "textile industry", "bad father-in-law".

The technical file

Cinematography: Oswald Morris
Original score: Richard Addinsell
Editing: Derek York
Makeup / hair: Joan Smallwood
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Life at the Top (1965)

Part of

At The Top Collection

Room at the Top is a 1959 British drama film based on the 1957 novel of the same name by John Braine. The film was widely lauded, and was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning two. Room at the Top is seen as the first of the British New Wave of kitchen-sink-realism film dramas. It was followed by a sequel in 1965 entitled Life at the Top.

Also by

Ted Kotcheff

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-09-05
★ 7/10
As sequels go, this isn't half bad. Aspirational, working-class lad "Joe" (Laurence Harvey) has managed to marry the boss's daughter "Susan" (Jean Simmons), has the semi detached trappings of middle class luxury but his life consists little of substance. His career is going nowhere fast and he is soon being tempted by the visiting television star "Norah" (Honor Blackman) as his wife embarks on an affair de coeur of her own with the rather unfortunately wooden Michael Craig ("Mark"). Has he the fortitude to go it alone; does he even really want to? The story isn't as potent as "Room at the Top" (1959) but both Harvey and Simmons as well as a strong series of cameos from the likes of Sir Donald Wolfit and Robert Morley still work well to convey many of the frustrations of a young man trying to escape the bonds of a class system and of a woman who has never had to want for anything, efficiently. It looks good. The photography is intense, almost intrusive at times, and the score from the accomplished Richard Addinsell adds much to the story and in many ways substitutes for a rather wordy and descriptive narrative. It's a good film, not a great one, and it is good to see Simmons remind us just how adaptable an actress she was.

Production companies