Room at the Top

"A savage story of lust and ambition"

1958 1h 55m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 147

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An ambitious young accountant schemes to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter, despite falling in love with a married older woman.

“A savage story of lust and ambition”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Laurence Harvey
Joe Lampton
Simone Signoret
Alice Aisgill
Heather Sears
Susan Brown
Donald Wolfit
Mr. Brown
Donald Houston
Charles Soames
Hermione Baddeley
Elspeth
Beatrice Varley
Aunt
Allan Cuthbertson
George Aisgill

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jack Clayton
Writers: Neil Paterson, 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

68 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 Jack Clayton, shot by Freddie Francis. 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 Mario Nascimbene. 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 Ralph Kemplen 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 Simone Signoret and Heather Sears carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A savage story of lust and ambition".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0053226 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jack Clayton directs. Freddie Francis behind the camera. Mario Nascimbene scores. Ralph Kemplen cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

168 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "At The Top Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Jack Clayton, shot by Freddie Francis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Mario Nascimbene. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ralph Kemplen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Laurence Harvey and Simone Signoret and Heather Sears carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A savage story of lust and ambition".
8IMDB entry: tt0053226 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 12 themes, including "small town", "northern england", "based on novel or book", "blackmail".

The technical file

Cinematography: Freddie Francis
Original score: Mario Nascimbene
Editing: Ralph Kemplen
Makeup / hair: Tony Sforzini
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Room at the Top (1958)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Best Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

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.