Room At the Top (1959)

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moira finnie
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Room At the Top (1959)

Post by moira finnie »

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Room At the Top (1959) which airs tonight (2/10) at 8pm on TCM, was directed by Jack Clayton from a novel by John Braine. One of a handful of memorable adult-themed movies from the late '50s, it stars Laurence Harvey and Simone Signoret. Miss Signoret and screenwriter Neil Paterson won Oscars for their work here.

The film, which was part of the kitchen sink wave of British films that looked critically and realistically at the class bound structure of British society as the Empire disintegrated is told here from the POV of the ambitious, amoral Harvey, who soon finds his involvement with the magnificent Signoret inconvenient. Harvey, an actor who is sometimes difficult to describe (or to like) was at his best in this film, as well as The Manchurian Candidate (1962). His attempt to gain a foothold in the American cinema was never fully successful, in part because Harvey was hard for audiences to pigeonhole as hero or villain, and was most consistently just disturbing, (but never really boring).

Simone Signoret, if you are unfamiliar with her work in French films, must be seen. I suspect that most of us know her memorable appearance opposite Oskar Werner from Ship of Fools, but this film, as well as Casque D'Or, La Ronde, Diabolique, Thérèse Raquin and her wonderful later appearance in Army of Darkness have earned her the reputation as one of the very best actresses who ever stepped in front of the camera. See what you think.
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Post by MissGoddess »

I will reply HERE on Moirafinnie's Thread and NOT at TCM on...

I saw Room at the Top years ago, before I briefly moved to London, and remember having a hard time liking either of the characters, especially Harvey who I usually enjoy disliking. :) I look forward to revisiting it now after some time has passed. I'm not a huge fan of Signoret's invariably unhappy mien, but agree she is a very excellent actress.

I wonder what she thought of Larry, lol. Moira, do you know anything about the making of the film, how everyone got on or any tidbits? Did Signoret win the Oscar?
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Post by moira finnie »

MissGoddess wrote:I will reply HERE on Moirafinnie's Thread and NOT at TCM on...

I saw Room at the Top years ago, before I briefly moved to London, and remember having a hard time liking either of the characters, especially Harvey who I usually enjoy disliking. :) I look forward to revisiting it now after some time has passed. I'm not a huge fan of Signoret's invariably unhappy mien, but agree she is a very excellent actress.

I wonder what she thought of Larry, lol. Moira, do you know anything about the making of the film, how everyone got on or any tidbits? Did Signoret win the Oscar?
Signoret won the Oscar for Room at the Top. Sorry you don't like her. Perhaps some of her other movies might appeal to you? Have you seen Casque d'Or?
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Post by MissGoddess »

No, I haven't gotten to Casque D'Or though I plan to, as well La Ronde.
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Post by Ann Harding »

I like Signoret as an actress. But I didn't like Room at the Top. It felt terribly hoary to me. Especially compared with the parts that Signoret played in French pictures. So if you want to discover her, watch her French pictures! :wink: I loved her in Casque d'or, Dédé d'Anvers, L'armée des ombres and Thérèse Raquin. :)
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Post by moira finnie »

While I do think that Signoret is at her most relaxed in French films, I still think that her work in Room At the Top was exceptionally good, and, in many ways, her character was far more complex a woman than we usually see in most movies in English.
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Post by jdb1 »

Les Diaboliques was left of out the recommended Signoret films, and should be included.

Another fine English-language performance from Signoret can be seen in a late '60s version of The Seagull, where she plays Arkadina. The young Vanessa Redgrave, as Nina, got all the attention for that film, but IMO Signoret blew her away, she was so much better.
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Post by moira finnie »

Les Diaboliques was mentioned in my original post on Signoret.

I have only a dim memory of seeing Signoret in The Seagull, Judith, but would love to see her in that role again sometime. I should also mention one very well acted part by her is in a recently available Region 1 dvd of the Alain Delon film, La Veuve Couderc (1971). She plays a hard-bitten widow buried in the impoverished countryside in the 1930s who opens up as much as she can, as a result of Delon's disturbing presence. Both actors are outstanding. Has anyone seen Signoret and Jean Gabin in Le Chat (1971)? I'd love to see those two magnificent ruins in a movie together at the end of their careers--they had such presence.
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Post by Ann Harding »

Signoret and Gabin are both pretty good in Le Chat. It's a Simenon adaptation about an elderly couple who has grown to hate each other. They don't talk any more. They sometimes go a bit over the top, but, still have bags of charisma. :wink:
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Post by MissGoddess »

Ann Harding wrote:Signoret and Gabin are both pretty good in Le Chat. It's a Simenon adaptation about an elderly couple who have grown to hate each other. They don't talk any more. They sometimes go a bit over the top, but, still have bags of charisma. :wink:
Hello---I'm just curious; is this "Le Chat" based on the story by Colette?
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Post by Ann Harding »

Nope. It's based on Georges Simenon. :wink:
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Post by MissGoddess »

Thank you.
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Post by otterhere »

As I stated in the other thread (which I shouldn't have started; sorry), I loved this film... Funny that she was considered so "old"; what was she supposed to be; 35, LOL? And the actress was maybe 38 at the time...

But please see my question and give me your take... I'm wondering just how "realistic" this film was and if THAT scene wasn't behind the x rating.
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Post by moira finnie »

Otterhere wrote in the thread he started about Room at the Top:
Maybe you can tell by my posts that I'm slowly working my way through some taped movies, LOL... But I took a break from that last night to watch "Room at the Top," one of the early, gritty, realistic British films.

Great; loved it! But one (almost trivia) question, and I hope it isn't banned; I'll try to be subtle about it. Toward the end, when Joe was picking up that girl in the bar and later left with her, what EXACTLY was going on between them when they were, you know, STANDING UP against that wall there and, real QUICK like, she said, "Oh, you're wonderful!"

Maybe it's just me, but....................
I think they were having sex standing up--which was shown discreetly, not as just a gratuitous sex scene, but to indicate the furtive world the characters lived in and the loneliness of each of them, as well as Joe's drive to fill himself up with sensation, since he has such emptiness inside. Another reason why I think that the film received an X certificate in Britain when it was released were the numerous sensual looks and comments from Simone Signoret.

This film still has an impact fifty years later not because it is explicit, but because it approaches adult issues with such a depth of feeling and understanding behind the relatively tame action on screen. Wish that more movies today had that! But that's just my opinion...
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Post by otterhere »

A SUQ; I thought so; pretty hot scene, actually. I don't believe I've EVER seen that in a movie! But then, I don't get around much...

Also, do we think Alice committed suicide or just drove drunk?
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