I'm All Right Jack

Rating:
Summary: I can't imagine...
Review: ...I'm the only one who noticed that, besides the satire about managements, unions, and their relations, there is also one, although briefer nonetheless most interesting, about 'Justice', who decides that if one is guilty of honesty, it can only happen by reason of insanity, and, therefore must be committed. Leaving management going on with their cheating schemes, workers thinking that getting their paycheck is working hard enough, and unions' leaders going on encouraging sabotage, following USSR directions, absolutely blind to the fact that, if doing one tenth of the same stuff in USSR, they would have been -at best- sent to the siberian salt mines used as reeducation camps.

Rating:
Summary: A hilarious and brilliant satire from the Fifties
Review: A rather posh young man(Ian Carmichael) graduates from Oxford University intending to become a Captain of Industry. Owing to his honesty and naievety he does not interview well and ends up as fork lift driver at his uncle's (Denis Price) defense plant. He finds a poweful union boss(Peter Sellers) and a somewhat unscrupulous personnel director(Terry-Thomas) along with some executives (uncle plus Dickie Attenborough) working a shady arms deal with a third world country. Carmichael has a 1950s chaste encounter with the delightful Liz Fraser (Sellers daughter) and inadvertently precipitates a strike and is used by all as a scapegoat to restore labor peace. The movie is a satire and full of fun. Enjoy its hilarity. Dont take it seriously.

Rating:
Summary: It's all "blow you, I'm allright, Jack"!
Review: After waiting for years to see this film again, it is exciting to see that it will soon be available on DVD. This is a wonderful film, a must see for all Peter Sellers fans. His characterizations in this film are unforgettable, as are those of the rest of the cast. Having worked in industry myself for a number of years, including some union environments, I find this satire on target with the sad realities of the workplace, even today. Lovers of the Dilbert comics will appreciate this satirical poke at business outside the office. I recommend this film highly.

Rating:
Summary: It's About Time!
Review: After waiting for years to see this film again, it is exciting to see that it will soon be available on DVD. This is a wonderful film, a must see for all Peter Sellers fans. His characterizations in this film are unforgettable, as are those of the rest of the cast. Having worked in industry myself for a number of years, including some union environments, I find this satire on target with the sad realities of the workplace, even today. Lovers of the Dilbert comics will appreciate this satirical poke at business outside the office. I recommend this film highly.

Rating:
Summary: A scathing comedy about business
Review: Although I have only seen this movie once, I found it terrific and am in the process of buying it. I don't remember all the plot (it starts and ends in a nudist colony), but it is an indictment of the industrial revolution as it has been mangled by Madison Avenue, unions, and government agencies (British style.) A '50s classic that was ahead of its time. A sly film.

Rating:
Summary: Sellers UK Highlight
Review: Amazing, and sad, that many American movie-goers think Peter Sellers' career began with "The Pink Panther." In fact he had been starring in films for almost a decade before that release. Unfortunately the terrific British comedies of the Fifties and Sixties just didn't get wide enough release in our insular U.S. film market. This is one of Sellers' highlights, a great project about the tug-of-war between industry and labor that, to some extent, still bedevils the UK today. Many of his friends remarked over the years that Sellers only came fully alive when he was playing somebody else; but no one topped him at exploring the comic nuances of a character he had fully nailed, like union boss Fred Kite here. Helps that he is surrounded by a great cast; and why can't Britain make them like this any more?

Rating:
Summary: Landmark British Satire.
Review: 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" !

Rating:
Summary: Dated Comedy About Labor Relations
Review: Though I am a huge fan of Peter Sellers and he does a creditable job here as Mr. Kite, the union organizer, this film did not really grab me. It was funny in parts but my feeling is that the satire here is the product of it's time or that this film is veddy British and one would have to be an Anglophile of the first order to appreciate it. That said, I would recommend this film to Peter Sellers fans if they want a broader overview of his entire film career.

Rating:
Summary: It's all "blow you, I'm allright, Jack"!
Review: Wow, you couldn't say that in an American film of this era, and there sure wouldn't be any naked women running about! Aside from the refreshing freedom, this is of course a classic fatalistic satire of post-war England, with absolutely priceless slapstick comedy thrown in (the tour of the candy factory stands up there with anything in the genre). It deserves a wider audience, I had only seen a censored version of it once on TV, and it completely cutout the penultimate line above!