1959 version: This is another case where I went backwards. I went to a special screening of Room At The Top in May and was blown away. Searching for a current film with which I could pair it, I found that list of 2019 romantic movies and chose Always Be My Maybe since it also involves class differences. Admittedly a tenuous connection, but you get a nice mix of posts this time.
Room At The Top was part of a popular trend of “angry young man” dramas in Britain in the late 50s and early 60s. I actually watched a few of those when I took a class on British film history as a UCLA student. Some were okay, but nothing compared to Room At The Top and I don’t know why it wasn’t chosen for the class. Certainly couldn’t have been because the rights were too expensive!
I say that because this is another movie that has basically been lost to time. As acclaimed as it was when it came out, getting nominated for SIX major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Director, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress, Screenplay) and WINNING Best Actress and Screenplay, it’s not available to stream on any major platform and it doesn’t look like it ever got so much as a DVD release. I remember I had it on my Netflix disc queue many years ago but it got removed because the release was indefinitely postponed.
Luckily, a theater on the west side of Los Angeles had a screening that I found out about because Facebook often tells me about classic movie screenings in my area. This is one case where I appreciate their use of consumer data!
Wow. The basic plot is that a working class guy named Joe (a bit on-the-nose a name but it’s okay) sees the impediments to upward mobility in his society and feels his best bet is to romance a rich young heiress named Susan and marry her. Although he successfully does charm her, a problem arises when he also charms a fellow working class person named Alice.* He actually returns the feelings for the latter, rather than simply having mercenary intents. However, she’s significantly older than him. Also…she’s already married…to one of his spiteful superiors in the business world.
Does Joe actually learn to love Susan? Does he gain the wealth he seeks? Does Alice leave her husband George? Do she and Joe find happiness? Does Joe learn anything? Can he really work the system the way he hopes? Is the whole thing captivating?
I’ll answer the last one – YES!!!!!!! There’s nothing I value more in a story than three-dimensional characters whose choices feel organic and at no point in this story could I guess what would happen next. More importantly, I felt the emotions of the characters in control of their own destiny, thanks to the riveting dialogue and performances. Even though it’s really just talking the whole time, the movie didn’t leave me bored for one second of its 115 minutes. Perfection. I knew I had to write about it on the blog.
1993 version: The very next day I happened to stumble across a different adaption on YouTube. I couldn’t write that off as mere coincidence; it felt like fate so I decided to write about this take on the story also. An episode of the classic series Monsterpiece Theater, it’s perfectly described by host Alistair Cookie as a tale about a young man who seeks his place at the top of society. Star Grover Monster, best known for his comedic work, here shows his versatility as we feel both his struggle and his passion about ascending to the pinnacle. There is a twist ending this version adds, but it’s done perfectly. This Room At The Top can easily be found online, as I said, so here’s the link.
I’d give the 1959 version 100/100 and the 1993 version 98/100. I’d weight it though, given how much longer the original is, and that comes out to a perfect score!
Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment.
Bottom Line: A-maz-ing.
Up Next: Oh there’s more.
*I just realized that this is similar to A Place In The Sun, except with “Alice” being the one the main character actually likes.
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