I'm All Right Jack

source: I'm All Right Jack

I waited until I watched Private's Progress to get a feel for these characters from where they originated before writing about I'm All Right Jack. The only question was how did at least two of the repeating characters get out of the jackpot they were left in the previous film in order to be characters here. By all rights Dennis Price and Richard Attenborough should have been doing some time in Her Majesty's jail. Price and Attenborough, along with Terry-Thomas and Ian Carmichael repeat their characters from Private's Progress. World War II is over and somehow everybody's back to where they were before, Price and Attenborough up to some nefarious scheme, Ian Carmichael still a polished, but mindless upper class twit who can't even fit in at university and Terry-Thomas just being Terry-Thomas. Carmichael is almost Stan Laurel like in his innocence about all that goes on around him. He joins the working class work force and he muddles into a situation that has the potential to destroy labor/ management relations built up from World War II and the Labour government that took power. Especially if radical union leader Peter Sellers has his way, who joins this cast and fits right into the fun. A lot of the same themes are repeated from the Alec Guinness classic The Man In The White Suit and really both ought to be seen back to back unless one wants to view I'm All Right Jack with Private's Progress. Either way it's a fun filled evening you're in store for.

To watch this film, you would think that Britain is the center of the universe. Never once do they mention any other country, such as Canada, America, Argentina or Iceland. No, it's all about Britain, Britain, Britain (oh, and Russia). And missiles, missiles, missiles. There are lots of speeches about how important missile production and exports are to the economy of Britain (or is it England, or Great Britain, or GB, or U.K.? I do wish you UKers would make up your mind!) I'm All Right Jack is fine, if you like listening to lots of patriotic propaganda, which I, being an American, love to do. Now I can see why you Brits are always assuming Hollywood is an extension of the U.S. Department of Propaganda and Patriotism, because that's what Pinewood Studios is. I keep reading reviews by Brits complaining about how every American movie they are FORCED to watch is nothing but more American propaganda that doesn't even give credit to England for all the contributions you Englanders have made to civilization over the centuries, like inventing Shakespeare, tabloid journalism and blancmange. Well, America makes missiles, too. How come American missile production wasn't worked into the plot? And we've got unions, too. Why not have an American union official working at the missile plant as a sort of union exchange program, kinda like the role Peter Sellers had in Dr. Strangelove? Now, there's a fine patriotic American war movie that even included a Brit and a Russian in the plot, so quit complaining, England! Peter Sellers delivers a subtle, dramatic performance of the harried union leader whose wife and daughter move out, leaving him to fend for himself, with results along the lines of The Odd Couple, as his boss darns his socks for him. The movie, and in particular the television talk show, Argument, is a remarkably realistic depiction of life in Great Britain today. A rich twit (is "twit" the right word to describe Stanley Windrush? I picked up the odd bit of vocabulary from your excellent documentary television program, Monty Python) seeks fame and fortune in the noble calling of Industry, not too heavy and not too light, wanting at least one afternoon off per week. (Spoiler alert) Yet in the eyes of his co- workers and union members, he is working too hard and seems a mite worn out, so he is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to Coventry with a bag of cash, a gift from his boss and union. From this it is safe to assume that all Brits are lazy union members, except for the moneyed upper classes, who are lazy twits, and Stanley Windrush, who is a hard working, hard driving forklift driver. But no good deed goes unpunished, and Windrush dumps the cash on the table during an argument on Argument, causing a stampede in front of the cameras. He gets arrested for being a pain in the ass, which is illegal in the United Kingdom, and is sentenced to a year in a very realistically portrayed nudist colony. There, he gets chased across a field by all the pretty girls, wanting him to play with them. That's what happens to me, too, every time I go to a nudist resort. It's torture, and a fitting punishment for the evil Windrush, (spoiler alert) who dies when the union shop steward at Missiles Ltd. targets the nudist colony with a missile that fell off the back of a truck. Serves them right, too. As we all know, Brits are a bunch of preverts practicing their preversion. Have a nice day.

Superior example of British comedy film making amongst a sea of duds. British film-makers never got it more right than here. Tremendous story and script plus wonderful performances from a whole host of character actors, especially Peter Sellers and Terry-Thomas. Very funny satire on British industrial relations.

Pauline Kael was an influential critic, and she deserves to be honoured for trashing Kubrick's "Clockwork Orange" (though for the wrong reasons), and praising Peckinpah. On the other hand, she veered erratically from being fairly perceptive to being singularly obtuse. Calling "I'm All Right, Jack" a "raucous farce" is way off-mark; in fact ridiculously inaccurate. There is nothing raucous about it, nor is it anything even close to being a farce. It is a blistering satire, and nails its targets with savage, pin-point accuracy. Although it's nice to see that there are some few Americans who seem to appreciate this kind of thing, in general one feels that the sheer professionalism and incredible precision of the nuanced performances of Dennis Price, Irene Handl, Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers, are miles above the heads of non-European viewers. Humour does not always travel easily. My view is that there must be something seriously wrong with any European who finds anything the slightest bit funny about "Team America", or "Blazing Saddles", or anything else by Mel Brooks, but those dreadful disasters send many Americans into raptures. It is tempting to call "I'm All Right, Jack" of its time, and dated. It isn't. Although the so-called working class, and Union attitudes, so mordantly portrayed in this masterpiece have modified to some extent, if not completely disappeared, then the behaviour of top management and politicians in today's Britain is worse than it ever was, if such a thing is possible. Pull up the ladder, Fred, I'm all right.

During the 1977 strike at the Grunwick film processing plant in London,a large group of flying pickets led by Mr Arthur Scargill made the journey south from Yorkshire with the intention of preventing the "scabs" from going to work.They failed to do so,meeting firm resistance from the Metropolitan Police,during the course of which one of Mr Scargill's close cohorts was arrested.Once given bail he fled the country on the grounds that he wouldn't receive a fair trial in a police state and fled to Eastern Europe to seek sanctuary.Within a remarkably short time he returned to England,having experienced what living in a police state was really like.That sort of disillusionment I'm sure would have befallen Fred Kite had he ever visited the Workers' Paradise of his imaginings. "All them cornfields...and ballet in the evenings",he rhapsodises at a time when Stalin had only been dead four years.Shop Steward Kite is the sort of slightly potty Socialist whose antics gave birth to the idea of the "Loony Left" in British politics.With a Hitler moustache and an extreme haircut Mr Kite strides round the factory with a face like a bag of hammers followed by his equally surly minions,sowing conflict where there once was peace. Not that his fellow employees need much encouragement to down tools,indeed they seem to spend their days assiduously trying to avoid work.Nor are his employers much better,eternally trying to get the workers to do more for less money.Personnel Manager Mr Terry-Thomas is at his wits' end "You're an absolute Shower",he shouts despairingly to jeers from the workforce. Into this industrial maelstrom comes well-meaning incompetent Stanley Windrush(Mr Ian Carmichael) who has failed dismally at every other career path since leaving the army(see "Private's Progress").He is welcomed by the bosses (Mr Richard Attenborough and Mr Dennis Price as former army colleagues of Windrush) who see him as the right man to totally screw up the factory and leave it open to a takeover by nasty foreigner Mr Marne Maitland.Stanley soon comes to the attention of Fred Kite(Mr Peter Sellers) and his daughter(Miss Liz Fraser).Fred sees Stanley as a fellow intellectual,his daughter sees him as a prospective husband. Determined to offend everybody,"I'm all right Jack" succeeds admirably. There is no point in calling it "racist",it merely reflects the no doubt disgraceful attitudes of half a century ago,and it is an act of cultural vandalism to cut out parts that might offend the more delicate sensibilities of the early 21st century.Censorship is still censorship. Mr Sellers has been rightly lauded for his portrayal of the ludicrous self-important but pathetic shop steward.He could easily have turned him into a monster with no redeeming features ,a comedy villain,but he has succeeded in the much more difficult task of making Kite a man we can ridicule but at the same time feel some sympathy for,perhaps even a little affection.In one memorable scene he is matched blow for blow by Mr Terry- Thomas as circumstances force them to share a room.Accompanied by a superb trombone solo on the soundtrack(Don Lusher?)Mr Terry-Thomas picks his way gingerly through discarded clothing and unwashed cutlery,his moustache nearly drooping with unhappiness. Sam Kydd and Victor Madren are particularly telling as a couple of disgruntled workers,but the whole cast is a delightful I - Spy of the cream of British light comedy actors. Even if the premise that British industry is corrupt from top to bottom offends you,please remember that the Boulting Brothers did exactly the same axe job on the Army and the legal profession,and that should make you feel better.

Sellers outshines actors as good as Irene Handl, who made a living playing Cockney characters despite her Viennese origins. Margaret Rutherford seems rather muted. Liz Fraser is as wonderful and Ian Carmichael as likable as always. Sellers really was a genius. His Fred Kite almost seems to be in a different film, one much more realistic and serious. During the war, the British film industry made some great movies about working class life. Some of that brilliance lingers here, only to show up the plodding comedy of embarrassment and unpleasant class attitudes. Workers are only interested in skiving off and asking for more money, what a laugh! The Kites' home is lovingly recreated - shame that the scenes set there are so unconvincing. In some ways this is an inferior remake of The Man in the White Suit.

I'm All Right Jack is directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting from a script by Frank Harvey, John Boulting and Alan Hackney. It's based on the novel Private Life by Hackney and is a sequel to the Boulting's 1956 film Private's Progress. Returning from the first film are Ian Carmichael, Dennis Price, Richard Attenborough, Terry-Thomas, Victor Madden & Miles Malleson. While Peter Sellers (BAFTA for Best Actor) and a ream of British comedy actors of the time make up the rest of the cast. Looking to force a crooked deal, Bertram Tracepurcel (Price) and his cohort Sydney de Vere Cox (Attenborough) convince Major Hitchcock (Thomas), the personnel manager at the local missile factory, to hire Tracepurcel's nephew, Stanley Windrush (Carmichael), knowing full well that his earnest and wet behind the ears approach to work will cause fractions within the work force. Then it's expected that Bolshoi shop steward Fred Kite (Sellers) will call a strike that will see the crooked plan to fruition. Between 1956 and 1963 the Boulting brothers produced a number of satirical movies, I'm All Right Jack is arguably the finest of the bunch. Given that it's now admittedly a dated time capsule, for some of the dialogue would simply be shot down in this day and age, one has to judge and value it for the time it was made. The first and most striking thing about the film is that nobody escapes the firing line, this is not merely a device to kick the trade unions with {and a kicking they do get}, but also the government, the media, big industries and the good old chestnut of the old school brigade. All are in the sights of the Boulting's and the team. The overriding message being that all of them are out for themselves, self-interest and feathering of ones nest is the order of the times. Also winning a BAFTA was the screenplay, with that you still need the cast to do do it justice. Ian Carmichael was an undervalued performer in that he was an unselfish actor feeding set ups to his costars. That is never more evident than it is here where the likes of Margaret Rutherford, Irene Handl, John Le Mesurier, Liz Fraser & Victor Madden benefit greatly playing off of Carmichael's toff twit twittering. But it's Sellers movie all the way. Which considering he didn't want to do the movie originally, saying he couldn't see the role of Kite being funny, makes his turn all the more special. Studying for weeks labour leaders and politico types, Sellers, with suit too tight, cropped hair and a Hitler moustache, nails the pompous militancy of the shop steward leader. It doesn't stop there, couple it with the contrast of Kite's home life, where the Boulting's are slyly digging away at facades, and you get a two side of the coin performance that's a joy from start to finish. Very much like Ealing's sharp 51 piece, The Man In The White Suit, this is cynical, but classy, British cinema across the board. Throwing punches and with cheek unbound, I'm All Right Jack has razor sharp teeth from which to take a bite of the comedy pie with. 9/10

After the second world war is over, a new spirit of togetherness is fostered in the UK, and industry blossoms. Eager to get involved, the well-to-do Stanley Windrush tries to get a management job but fails. However some friends of the family, head of industry types get him a job with the workers at a missile factory. However his enthusiasm gets him in trouble with the all-powerful unions – but is that what the bosses planned for all along? First of all I cannot believe that this film has so few votes and comments (at time of writing this it's 270 and 5 respectively). I know this doesn't correlate with the number of users who have seen the film but it is a fair representation! I find that shocking, as this is one of the stronger satires I've seen for a good long while. The plot is a sort of comedy ploy by the bosses to shift work around to other firms (by relying on their own firm striking) and get personally rich as a result, however it is the satirical edge that makes it worth watching. Both bosses and unions get it in the neck here – neither coming off well in the wash! Bosses are seen as profit driven and not looking at the greater good, workers on the other hand are seen as looking after themselves while the unions cause more problems than they solve! There is an element of truth in all this – that's why it is funny – although it is obviously laid on a bit strong in the name of comedy. As a current worker in the UK manufacturing industry (yes, there is some left – although it's an American company!) I am greatly amused by the caricatures as some elements (happily less each year) of them can still be seen in my place of employment! The management get off quite light as they are actually, at core, trying to improve the business's efficiency and thus compete with foreign firms. The workers and the unions get the hardest stick which is a little unfair – after all the workers make the least and are the ones at risk, while the unions have brought about great steps in workers rights. For example it was funny for me to see FLT's moving around in heavily pedestrianised areas – nowadays many larger factories will be totally segregated between vehicles and workers. The plot does manage to mix the swipes so that it seems fair on the surface – it is a pretty damning dig at British industry and, from modern views, it is quite prophetic as British industry has really fallen in the past few decades. The `one out, all out' strike mentality is well spoofed here but there's no doubting the damage that it (with other factors) has had. The only downside of the film looking back, is the racist views and racist language that is used at a couple of moments – but in fairness these are not THAT offensive and can be overlooked as the culture of the film at the time. Despite the quite anti-union feel to the film, Sellers does well to not overplay his character. The socialist worker type is really easy to get laughs off but Sellers brings out character and doesn't just go for an out and out mockery of the character. Carmichael is OK in the lead but is overshadowed by the sheer depth of excellent support roles. Le Mesurier's excellent, twitchy efficiency expert, Thomas' manager – sweating and terrified of the workers he calls `an absolute shower' in the way only he can say it! Further faces fall into the film in the distinguished shapes of Attenborough, Rutherford and Price to name a few. Overall this film comes out as a very classy satire. It hits the nail on the head and, over 40 years later, much of it can still be seen today – and the damage from the stuff it satirises is being felt. The film is funny if you have a passing understanding of British industry in terms of politics, workers rights and unions – even without this understanding the central plot is broad enough and funny enough to be worth seeing!

'I'm All Right Jack' has gone down in British film history as a celebrated satire on industrial disputes. Ian Carmichael reprises his role as 'Stanley Windrush' ( great name! ), the naive young man we saw first in the Boulting Brothers' army comedy 'Private's Progress'. Having left his university post, he begins looking for a job. Firstly, he goes to the makers of 'Detto' soap powder, but his honesty ensures he is swiftly shown the door. Then at the Num-Yum chocolate factory, he throws up in the machinery. 'Uncle Bertie' Tracepurcel ( Dennis Price ) gets him a job driving a fork-lift truck at the engineering firm of Missiles Ltd. But his posh voice and gentle manner persuade the men he is really a time and motion man. Major Hitchcock ( Terry-Thomas ) offers to sack him, only to then be told this act will bring the whole workforce out on strike. Though Carmichael is billed as star ( and gives his usual first-rate performance ) it is Peter Sellers who stands out as the dictatorial shop steward 'Fred Kite'. A stickler for the party rule book, he is utterly humourless and quotes Lenin without ever really understanding it. With his short haircut, Hitler-like moustache, tight suit and pompous misuse of English ( "I have no hesitation in delineating it as bare-faced provocative of the workers!" ), he has to rank as one of Sellers' very best comedy creations. What can one say about the rest of the cast? Nothing except list the names - Terry Scott, Cardew Robinson, Kenneth Griffith, Ronnie Stevens, Victor Maddern, John Comer, David Lodge, Miles Malleson, Irene Handl, John Le Mesurier, and dear old Margaret Rutherford - and that should tell you all you need to know. After Stanley unwittingly helps a time and motion man to review the rates of pay for the job, he is sent to Coventry by his fellow workers and the factory grinds to a halt. The dispute spreads across the country. The one good thing about it is that Stanley gets to date Kite's flighty daughter Cynthia ( Liz Fraser ). It is no secret that the Boulting Brothers were no lovers of trade unions, and here unionists are depicted as as either lazy or stupid, and their members easily led. Often overlooked is the fact that it is also extremely critical of capitalist bosses too. It is Carmichael's upper-class twit joining the factory ( "liable to reverberate back to our deterrent!" as Kite eloquently puts it ) that is the catalyst for the film's events. The climax has Stanley losing his rag on a 'Question Time'-like show, and, denouncing the system as fundamentally corrupt, throws the money Cox ( Richard Attenborough ) tried to bribe him with into the audience, causing a near-riot. The film also takes swipes at the media, the world of advertising, commerce ( the sequence set in the Num-Yum factory makes me queasy with each viewing! ), and the changing moral climate of '50's Britain. The final scene in a nudist colony is hysterical! If I could choose one film to put in a time capsule to epitomise that era, this would be it. The fact that after forty years, the phrase 'I'm All Right Jack' is still used as shorthand for naked greed is testimony to its enduring appeal. It was the most popular British film of its year.