I'm All Right Jack (1959)

After a decade on radio, Peter Sellers set out on the road to international stardom in 1959's I'm All Right Jack. Sellers played both Sir John Kennaway and, unforgettably, the trade union leader Fred Kite (he had taken multiple roles in The Mouse That Roared and would do so again in Dr. Strangelove). The result is laugh-out-loud comedy with a satiric edge, lampooning the then-burning issue of industrial relations. Bertram Tracepurcel (Dennis Price) plans to make a fortune from a missile contract, a scheme that involves manipulating his innocent nephew Stanley Windrush (Ian Carmichael) into acting as the catalyst in an escalating labor dispute, from which the socialist Mr. Kite is only too keen to make capital. Management and labor both have their self-serving hypocrisy dissected in this ingenious comedy, which is actually a sequel to the military comedy Private's Progress (1956), but stands independent of the earlier film. Both films were made by the brothers John and Roy Boulting, directors and producers of such British classics as Brighton Rock (1947), Seven Days to Noon (1950), Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959), and Heavens Above (1963). The superb cast of I'm All Right Jack also features Richard Attenborough, John Le Mesurier, Margaret Rutherford, and Terry-Thomas. --Gary S. Dalkin Amazon.com

Sellers' best piece of work

This formula Boulting Bros. satire is broad and wide swiping. No section of 1950s British society is protected from its sting. It was a very apt piece of satire, and I am very happy to say, works as well today as it did on its release. It is actually quite nostalgic to watch now, because many of the elements lampooned here are now distant memories, bad or good. The film is rich in detail and the screenplay is very well crafted, but what I like about it most is that it captures the essence of British culture at the time, the general industrial scene and the attitudes and reputations of the British worker generally, and those of the British corporate employer. It is very much 'them and us' and portrays the role of the then mighty union as the tool of the devil that damages the reputation of Great Britain itself. But it also shows the corporate employers as priveliged, detached fat cat schemers whose main aim in life is to make a lot of money without getting their hands dirty, and couldn't give a stuff about the riff raff they are forced to employ, hence the catchphrase title 'I'm Alright Jack'. It is wonderfully catty stuff that ensues between the two classes, when a couple of greedy executives conspire to use the work force's militancy to aid a crooked deal of theirs.

Sellers gives a masterclass in caricature as he plays the died in the wool 'old labour' union shop steward to a tee. His pretentions of intellectualism are hilariously accurate about that very real type of character in British society of the day. Equally as funny are his rather fastidious habits and his priggishness and sense of values. His burning sense of pride has made him as much of a snob as the chinless plutocrats who are by definition his sworn enemies. It is a magnificent and thoroughly entertaining performance within a clever and entertaining film. Highly recommended to Brit com lovers and Sellers fans alike. May 26, 2008

This Movie Still Works!

Another home run directed by John Boulting. With Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers - and seldom listed (very young) David Attenborough) -- "We do not and cannot accept the principle that incompetence justifies dismissal. That is victimisation" -- ouch! This is a no-holds-barred comedy about (dare I say it?) greed, corruption, sex, unions, working, not working, hardly working, strikes (if you're hardly working to begin with, how do you know there's a strike on?), more corruption...
Watch Carmichael's Windrush go naively (like Alice) down the rabbit hole of industry; watch a very young Peter Sellers (before he started reading his own reviews) in his award winning role of the shop steward. This is light comedy - with a twist of the knife... It still strikes home, because it's all what brought on the "Out Sourcing" of our time. Ouch!! May 17, 2008

Witty and sophisticated--a masterpiece from the Boultings

The Boulting Brothers films of the 1950's had great casts, well drawn characters, and a story line where the character's intentions, motives, and their nature collided. I'm All Right, Jack is among the best of these films. The cast is superb:
Ian Carmichael---the bungling, guileless laddie of a man who everyone wants to help and whose misadventures drive the story.
Dennis Price-- the too clever by half manipulative owner
Richard Attenborough---the cynical former classmate, looking after his "friend" Carmichael.
Terry-Thomas---the worldly manager caught in the middle who must ultimately fix the messes made by the owners.
Peter Sellers---the Marxist labor union official whose struggles to create working class solidarity can't even succeed in his own family.
Irene Handl---Sellers wife who decides that he needs a dose of his own medicine.
Liz Fraser---Sellers's knockout teenage daughter, who hilariously falls for Carmichael ("Are those your own teeth? They're so perfect, I thought they were dentures.")
Margaret Rutherford---Carmichael's imperious Aunty who finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Irene Handl.

This is one of my all time favorite comedy films.


March 20, 2008

Brilliant Satire

If you enjoy satire and dialogue, then you'll love this movie, which was made in approx. 1959, and stars Peter Sellers, Ian Carmichael, and Terry-Thomas, and a teriffic supporting cast. The basic story is the clash between the British aristocracy and Labour classes in the period shortly after the end of WWII, with a subtext of missile sales to the Middle East. As you might imagine, with Peter Sellers playing both an aristrocrat and a labour organizer who is a confirmed disciple of Lenin (until circumstances collide with dogma), and with Terry-Thomas playing middle-management, the results are hilarious! You'll see the origins of Archie and Edith Bunker, and perhaps even the Beatles were inspired by this film. Remember "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"? There's a reference in there to "Mr Kite", and I think that the next time any of us run into into either Paul Mc Cartney or Ringo Starr, we should ask them if they'd seen this film. Be sure to see this if you like satire/dialogue/superb acting! March 19, 2008

Any film that starts out in a Nudist Camp is all right Jack with me...

Recently elected into the British Cinema's Top 100 Films, I'm All Right Jack is a delight. I saw it on the big screen in 1960 (produced in 59), I remember being entrhralled by Liz Frasier in a tight sweater and how funny Ian Carmichael and Terry Thomas were and knocked out by Peter Sellers (in his breakout role as shop steward Mr Kite). It still holds up as I watched it again yesterday. It's charming and witty in the best British tradition, Richard Attenborough, Margaret Rutherford and a host of English stars enliven this post war satire about trade unions, commerce and the press in Great Britian. Smashing fun. July 14, 2007

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