21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Landmark British Satire., December 9, 2003
This review is from: I'm All Right Jack (DVD)
I have already reviewed a couple of fine 50s comedies--one British ( The Man in the White Suit ) and one American ( The Solid Gold Cadillac )--where I felt that the film's theme or message was just as relevant today. You can certainly add the Boulting Brothers' brilliant comedy, "I'm All Right Jack ", to this list. Are industrial relations any less problematic today, especially if owners are greedy, managers elitist and incompetent, and unionized employees unreasonable ? It is a rhetorical question !
In producing "I'm All Right Jack", the Boultings obviously took great pains to be objective--both sides, management and labour, are only interested in themselves, with a mutual lack of respect and trust. I seem to recall that, when the film was first released in Britain, the union movement loved the way that ownership/management was portrayed, but objected very much to how the British worker was represented--of course, "upper class" owners had a reverse viewpoint.
While this terrific satire has a strong message, it is also a very entertaining film, with a perfect cast. As stubborn, dogmatic Fred Kite, the union leader, Peter Sellers is marvellous, but it is a mistake to call this a Peter Sellers' movie. Actually, Ian Carmichael gets top billing as Stanley Windrush, the ultimate "upper class twit"--not the only time that he would play this kind of role ( remember "School for Scoundrels"? ). Carmichael is wonderful as the well-meaning, but very naive young man, who causes all the "trouble". Terry-Thomas is the Personnel Director--obsequious to the owners, disdainful of the workers--oozing insincere charm all over the place. Ownership is represented by Dennis Price ( smug, patrician and totally crooked ) and Richard Attenborough ( a slimy, oily weasel--and--you guessed it--totally crooked ! ). John Le Mesurier registers as the "efficiency expert", spying on the workers. Irene Handl is a scene-stealer as Kite's wife, exasperated with her husband's union-spouting nonsense, wondering if he ever does any real work. Blonde and bosomy Liz Fraser is Kite's daughter, grabbing on to Windrush as her ticket away from a boring life and preening in front of the cameras. Ms. Fraser's performance is another gem. Character actors like Victor Maddern, Sam Kydd, Cardew Robinson and David Lodge pop up here and there to enliven things even more. Finally, let us not forget Margaret Rutherford--she only has a few scenes--but when Ms. Rutherford is on the screen, she owns it.
"I'm All Right Jack" remains a highly-respected landmark film in the history of British cinema--with a superb script and cast, this DVD belongs in the collection of anyone who likes to think and laugh at the same time.
As usual, Anchor Bay gives us a good quality picture--black and white, of course. There is also a trailer and a bio of Peter Sellers( again, while he is terrific, I do not consider this to be just a Sellers vehicle ).
Thanks, Anchor Bay--hey--how about a "Terry-Thomas Collection " ? You could start with "Make Mine Mink" !
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lot more than all right, March 24, 2005
This review is from: I'm All Right Jack (DVD)
One of the greatest, and most willfully misunderstood, movie comedies ever. Although still lauded in Britain as a searing indictment of trade unionism, its greatness lies in its even-handed treatment of unions and bosses alike. Sellers's portrayal of the union leader Fred Kite was so brilliant that it tended to overshadow the performance of Dennis Price as the crooked boss, and Ian Carmichael's poor, honest scapegoat caught in the middle. But the entire cast is great. Talking of which, was there ever such a wealth of comedy acting talent as in 50s and 60s British cinema?
The title comes from a saying common at the time: "F*** you Jack, I'm all right!" which had Bowdlerized variants like "Up yours, Jack..." and "Blow you Jack..." and which reflected a self-interestedness that no longer requires a catchphrase because it is now so taken for granted. It particularly applied to the well-known phenomenon of the trade union member being promoted to management level and suddenly abandoning his working-class loyalties. As another popular phrase had it: "The working class can kiss my ***, I've got the foreman's job at last."
This movie is a sequel to "Privates Progress", which is also worth seeing, but each movie is standalone. Comedy has a way of getting beneath the skin more effectively than drama. These two movies will tell you more about wartime and post-war British society than any documentary could do. And with plenty of laughs along the way.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious satire directed at labor and management, March 20, 2006
A wonderful satirical kick in the pants to labor unions and money-grabbing management alike. Two company heads scheme with a foreign diplomat to get the workers at one factory to go on strike so a contract will go to the other company - at a higher rate. Ian Carmichael, a daft upper-class innocent, is unwittingly brought in to bring the strike about. Carmichael's factory strike soon spreads across the whole country after he reveals to the press what's going on, and Britain is soon paralyzed. Peter Sellers plays the union head, with his Hitler mustache and empty talk of communism: the slap at the once-sacred cow of labor (the unions) is right on target. But labor is not the only target of the satire here: management is also laid low in its willingness to rob the country for its own profits. Brilliantly funny all around. Definitely worth a watch.
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