Life at the Top is not a bad film, but as a sequel there are a few problems, not least of chronology. Many people assume that Room at the Top was set in the year it was made, 1959, particularly as it has been associated with the "angry young man" genre of the late fifties/early sixties. In fact, Room at the Top is set in the early post war years, 1947 or 48. In the film we are told that Joe Lampton is 25 years old and had served in the Second World War. If the action had been taking place in 1959, Lampton would have been only five years old at the outbreak of war! The sequel is set ten years after the first film, which is confirmed by the Lampton's son (with whom Susan was pregnant at the end of Room at the Top) having his tenth birthday during the movie. This means that the sequel should be taking place circa 1958, but Joe Lampton is driving around in a 1965 Jaguar S Type and whilst in London is seen wandering around streets filled with sixties office blocks. But if the action in Room at the Top was ten years earlier than 1965, Lampton would still have been only nine years old at the outbreak of war. The other problem is Jean Simmons playing Susan. Miss Simmons is one of my favourite actresses and gives a good performance in the film, but it is quite impossible to believe that this is the same Susan Brown (as portrayed by Heather Sears) that Lampton married in the first film. People don't change that much in ten years ( I am talking about character, not appearance).
Review of Life at the Top
