Man at the Top (film)
Man at the Top is a 1973 British drama film directed by Mike Vardy and starring Kenneth Haigh, spun off from the television series Man at the Top which itself was inspired by the 1959 film Room at the Top and its sequel Life at the Top.
| Man at the Top | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Mike Vardy |
| Produced by | Peter Charlesworth Jock Jacobsen |
| Written by | John Junkin Hugh Whitemore |
| Starring | Kenneth Haigh Nanette Newman Harry Andrews |
| Music by | Roy Budd |
| Cinematography | Brian Probyn |
| Edited by | Chris Barnes |
Production company | Hammer Films Dufton Films |
| Distributed by | Anglo-EMI |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
Joe Lampton is promoted to managing director of a pharmaceutical company, and becomes involved with Lord Ackerman, the powerful chairman, who is also his father-in-law. But Joe makes a shocking discovery: his predecessor committed suicide because of his involvement in a drug that left 1000 African women sterile. Joe threatens to reveal all to the press, while Lord Ackerman seeks to persuade him otherwise, by offering him promotion to Chief Executive.[1]
Cast
- Kenneth Haigh as Joe Lampton
- Nanette Newman as Lady Alex Ackerman
- Harry Andrews as Lord Ackerman
- William Lucas as Marshall
- Clive Swift as Massey
- Paul Williamson as Tarrant
- John Collin as Wisbech
- John Quentin as Digby
- Danny Sewell as Weston
- Charlie Williams as George Harvey
- Anne Cunningham as Mrs. Harvey
- Angela Bruce as Joyce
- Margaret Heald as Eileen
- Mary Maude as Robin Ackerman
- Norma West as Sarah Tarrant
- John Conteh as Boxer
Production
Shooting took place from 3 March to 7 April 1973.
Reception
Box office
The film was not a success at the box office.[2]
Critical reception
Monthly Film Bulletin said it was "too much like an episode of a TV series stretched to feature length".[3]
"Network on Air" noted the film as, "offering a grittier treatment than the 1959 film adaptation and the subsequent television series".[4]
Allmovie noted, " Nanette Newman, a busy doe-eyed ingenue of the 1960s, is quietly effective as the middle-aged Mrs. Lampton."[5]
References
- "Man at the Top | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
- Tom Johnson and Deborah Del Vecchio, Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography, McFarland, 1996 p369
- MAN AT THE TOP Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 40, Iss. 468, (Jan 1, 1973): 208.
- "> Man at the Top". Network ON AIR. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
- "Man at the Top (1973) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
External links
- Man at the Top on IMDb
- Man at the Top at BFI
- Man at the Top at the TCM Movie Database