With its dry cynicism, impassioned performances and abrupt assault on the class system, to say nothing of its sexual explicitness (which earned the film an X certificate), Room at the Top was a much needed break of fresh air, a shocking film, but also one that is profoundly moving. The destructive nature and double-standards of a morally bereft class system are exposed with passion and perspicacity, reflected as much in the stirring conscience of Joe Lampton as in the sickening behaviour of the elite whose ranks he aspires to join.
The film's appeal rests on an excellent script and some remarkable acting performances, particularly from the lead actors Laurence Harvey and Simone Signoret. Already an established actress in France (and the wife of the popular actor-singer Yves Montand), Signoret won an Oscar and the Best Actress Award at Cannes for her role in this film. Hers is a truly memorable performance, one which captures the hopeless fragility of an impossible romantic liaison and leaves the viewer devastated and feeling a palpable sense of regret. Laurence Harvey's dour northerner carries the mood of the piece brilliantly and you cannot help sympathising with him, mostly for the frustrated working class generation he represents than as an individual character, who is more anti-hero than hero.