As a great fan of John Braine's two books about Joe Lampton – Room At The Top and Life At The Top – plus the corresponding monochrome films starring Laurence Harvey, I found the movie to be a lazy attempt to cash in on the character of this seminal working class hero. It appears to be nothing more than a vehicle for the leading man to jump into bed (or shower, or woodland copse) with as many women as possible. The acting is fine, with Kenneth Haigh (complete with Mexican bandit moustache) doing a reasonable job as the sardonic Joe, and the reliable Harry Andrews playing the part of the upper class boss with his usual flair. The gorgeous Nanette Newman also does her bit, despite surrendering herself to a blatant body- double in the requisite nude scenes.
The story is paper thin, set in the dubious world of pharmaceuticals, with a ludicrous irrelevant sub-plot concerning two hitch-hiking girls, one of whose father is played by ex-Doncaster Rovers footballer turned comedian, Charlie Williams, an affable chap whom I once met on The Generation Game (but that's another story). Another well-known face pops up at the beginning – ex Light Heavyweight WBC boxing champion John Conteh. He takes the role of one half of a pair of pugilists who look as if they couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag.
I am afraid that I shall have to park this film at the 'do not watch again under any circumstances' end of my shelves of DVDs. It's no wonder John Braine ended his days in a one-room flat in Hampstead, and deeply in debt, if this is what they turned Joe Lampton into.
The story is paper thin, set in the dubious world of pharmaceuticals, with a ludicrous irrelevant sub-plot concerning two hitch-hiking girls, one of whose father is played by ex-Doncaster Rovers footballer turned comedian, Charlie Williams, an affable chap whom I once met on The Generation Game (but that's another story). Another well-known face pops up at the beginning – ex Light Heavyweight WBC boxing champion John Conteh. He takes the role of one half of a pair of pugilists who look as if they couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag.
I am afraid that I shall have to park this film at the 'do not watch again under any circumstances' end of my shelves of DVDs. It's no wonder John Braine ended his days in a one-room flat in Hampstead, and deeply in debt, if this is what they turned Joe Lampton into.