Nothing But the Best

The year before he won an Oscar for "Darling", Frederic Raphael adapted Stanley Ellin's short story "Nothing But the Best" for the screen. It was a kind of comic "Room at the Top" directed by that fine and underrated director Clive Donner and photographed by none other than Nicolas Roeg. Alan Bates is the social climbing Jimmy Brewster who does marry the boss' daughter, (Millicent Martin, very good), on his way up the ladder but still has to indulge in a spot of murder as well.

It's got a terrific supporting cast that includes Denholm Elliot at his Machiavellian best as Bates' tutor in the art of social mobility, Harry Andrews as his boss and, best of all, Pauline Delaney as an over-sexed landlady. It all adds up to a delightfully sharp satire yet hardly anyone has seen it. Seek it out because, apart from anything else, it's also one of the great London films.

What a superb film in my opinion difficult to beat. The British system slyly used to the main characters advantage . Alan Bates and Denholm Elliot excel in this classy tongue in cheek rendition of how to succeed. A film worthy of release particularly since the demise of both main stars.

Its a wonder this movie has been recently shown on the TV in the UK, a certain movie called Saltburn is currently having a moment which bears many similarities.

This is a British 1960's romp in which an ambitious man happens upon an upper class waster who has been shunned social and lost his job as a result of being caught committing fraud. The lead sees this as an opportunity to climb the social ladder from his lower middle class rung onto the one occupied by the upper classes. He does this by offering the waster a proposition, free board in exchange for being taught the social ropes of the upper class. He agrees and that's where things get interesting.

In order not to spoil the plot, this does get very dark two thirds of the way through. Its tone is that of a dark comedy/satire and as a result its actually quite difficult to second guess where the narrative will go. As a result its a highly entertaining watch. Of course its dated in terms of music but not so much in terms of the upper classes who haven't budged an inch into modernity lest it alter their identity.

This would be a great companion piece to Saltburn as it is a very similar story but without the obvious meme generating scenes shoehorned into Saltburn which didn't add to the story, but were simply there in order to hijack social media and generate interest into what is at best an average movie. This one however manages to keep you engaged because its simply a well told story. Even if it is quite a bitter one.

Alan Bates is the scoundrel here who thinks he is about to get away with anything. Everything is wrong with him except his ambitions. In order to climb the social ladder to riches and success he not just uses any dirty tricks to get along on the way, but his knack is simply to follow the mainstream of general hypocrisy, consistent deceit by means of sticking to lies, outrageous audacity and the general euphemistic way of life ignoring all that is out of any private interest to you. Everything here is permanent dishonesty, and for its blatant shamelessness the film is actually shocking in its horrible satire of upper class business life, while you must admit that it is extremely well done, in perfect cleverness, wit and elegance. All the actors are perfect, and you don't even feel sorry for Denholm Elliott who actually did nothing to help himself except in digging his own grave, while Alan Bates' acting is a marvel of sticking to a masked role. Millicent Martin actually suits him, it is even suggested that she sees him through and appreciates his charade, and you are used to Denholm Elliott as the perfect loser. In brief, in spite of its revolting immorality, the film is thoroughly enjoyable for its virtuosity in cleverness and elegance.

It's not very good, i could live without watching it, too much plot armor and the pace is uneven : At times, it seems it's gonna be great but it's never becoming that interesting neither intense.

Yet, it was a fun ride. Bates is charismatic and delightful to watch, same as Elliott and Martin. There are even some unpredictable moments, i'll spare the details in order to avoid spoilers. Overall it's enjoyable and dark comedy fans will enjoy it mostly. But for sure, it's not as clever as it thinks it is and you are gonna need a lot of suspension of disbelief in order to buy what is happening here.

Ending is exactly as the previous moments. Not as clever as they thought, and if you think it thoroughly, it doesn't even make sense. But as i said, actors are so charismatic that they make it work.