Room at the Top

Acclaimed as the first British film to treat sex seriously - i.e. to show it as enjoyable rather than sinful - and as one of the first to show the North of England as it 'really was'. In retrospect, this adaptation of John Braine's Bradford-set novel, with its moral melodramatics as Laurence Harvey cheats his way to success (a good marriage) via the death of his 'true love' and the bed of his mistress (Signoret), may not stand the test of time. But it remains intriguing as a sort of Brief Encounter, '50s-style.