4. Room At The Top (1959)
At the end of the 1940s in Yorkshire, England, an ambitious young man named Joe vacates the depressing town of Dufton to arrive in Warnley where he is due to take up a lowly but secure position in the Borough's Treasury Department. Despite the warnings from Soames, a fellow worker, Joe is drawn to Susan, the daughter of a wealthy local magnate - Mr Brown who reacts to the situation by sending Susan away abroad. Joe starts an affair with Alice, an older, unhappily married woman. Susan returns from her exile just as Joe and Alice have quarrelled. Joe sleeps with Susan but goes back to Alice. The major thing is - Susan is now pregnant by Joe. Mr Brown is incensed and tries to pay off Joe. When this doesn't work, he coerces Joe into marrying Susan. A distraught Alice embarks on a drinking marathon and dies in a car accident. Joe goes off the rails and gets beaten up by a group of men after trying to seduce one of their wives. Soames gets a hold of Joe and ensures he gets down the aisle to Susan in time. Simone Signoret as the forlorn Alice deserved every inch of her Oscar for the work she did in this film. Laurence Harvey is similarly brilliant as Joe - an ambitious and angry young man who is simultaneously repulsive in his acts and admirable in his chutzpah and ambition. Fantastic characterisation is what lifts this film above the average. Every single character is individuated and has their own story and motives. They are all complex individuals and it is pretty difficult to start wagging fingers at them. It is just a very very tragic film. Joe gets what his slimy, social climbing inner self wants - namely Susan - but he suffers the guilt and blame for Alice's death. There is absolutely sublime acting in this film, which is really the key to its success. Highly recommended.