jc-osms Here's a terrific, still very British topical comedy on the subject of industrial relations between the management and the burgeoning trade union movement of the time. The catalyst for the action is posh young aristocrat Stanley Windrush, played by Iain Carmichael, who can't settle into the normal "captain of industry" jobs lined up for him by his well connected family. In the end he settles for a shop-floor job at his uncle's missiles factory, little suspecting the part he will play in proceedings which will eventually lead him to inadvertently trigger a national strike paralysing the country's manufacturing industry and even seeing himself invited onto a national "Question Time" type TV programme cast as the ordinary average decent bloke just trying to keep his head down and get his work done.The satire is razor sharp and the better for not taking sides. On the one hand we have Windrush's uncle and his dubious fat cat friend, spivvily played by Richard Attenborough with a ridiculous con-man moustache to boot, orchestrating matters, or so they think, relying on bolshie shop steward Peter Sellers and his apparently bone idle, one-speed workforce to come out on strike to facilitate their plan to skim a fortune in transfer contract fees while the workforce itself comes across as heart lazy, self-interested and completely hung up on their own arcane, counter-productive trade union rules.With an all-star British cast of familiar faces on show like Sellers, Carmichael, Attenborough plus Terry Thomas, Liz Fraser, John Le Mesurier and Irene Handl this potent material is in good hands and the comedy flows thick and fast before arriving at its most odd conclusion, reminiscent of Evelyn Waugh's "A Handful Of Dust" in its surreal abstraction with a disillusioned Windrush reluctantly joining in of all things a naturist camp. I watched in near disbelief the sight of retreating naked female behinds over the end titles!Elsewhere the comedy is less broad but still very much to the point as management and union play out their cat and mouse games in complicit disharmony. I loved the topicality of the times too, such as when Windrush's new "fan club" of young girls screams for him, his name Stan emblazoned over last month's hero Elvis.One suspects that events are only slightly exaggerated from real-life which only helps the comedy resonate all the more. This film is better than all right Jack, in my view.

Leofwine_draca I'M ALL RIGHT JACK is a top comedy from John Boulting which makes use of the extraordinary talents of an ensemble British cast to fine effect. At first glance the tale of capitalist businessmen and their unionist rivals sounds like it could make for a deathly dull production, but I'M ALL RIGHT JACK turns out to be anything but boring. Instead it's a laugh-a-minute story packed with great characterisations and an endless parade of famous faces.The story also casts light on the politics surrounding business in the 1950s so it works well as a historical document. Ian Carmichael stars in a role much better suited to his talents than the last film I saw him in, THE BIG MONEY. Peter Sellers is almost unrecognisable again while Terry-Thomas remains a delight after all these years. The supporting cast is endless: Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price, Margaret Rutherford, Miles Malleson, Marne Maitland, Liz Fraser, Irene Handl, Kenneth Grittih, Victor Maddern, Raymond Huntley, John Le Mesurier, John Van Eyssen, Sam Kydd, Wally Patch, Marianne Stone, Basil Dignam, I could go on. It's a treat for fans of British comedy from the era.

dimplet 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.

Bucs1960 How insane is a movie that begins and ends in a nudist colony? That just sets the stage for this brilliant British comedy/satire of labor troubles at Missiles Ltd. All is not what it appears in management as the less than honorable Director and his cronies arrange for conditions that cause the workers to strike, thereby benefiting the bosses in their nefarious plans.Ian Carmichael is the wide eyed innocent, penniless but upper class young man who is the catalyst for the madness that ensues. Carmichael is spot on in his characterization and those who only know him as Lord Peter Wimsey, will be surprised at his light comedic touch. Even his name, Stanley Windrush, is whimsical.Peter Sellers is a standout as Kite, the Union boss who has delusions of grandeur and sports an Adolph Hitler moustache. His use of the Queen's English is less than perfect and his long-winded pronouncements are priceless. The supporting cast is unparalleled........Terry-Thomas is hysterical (as always) as the head of the Works Committee and his reading of the contents from the suggestion box is a small highlight of the film..........Liz Frazer as Kite's very blonde daughter, who asks "Who do you think you are, Diana Dors?".........Dennis Price, always the sophisticate, and Richard Attenborough as his oily partner in crime, are delightfully dishonest and also sport strange moustaches....John LeMesurier as the twitchy time management expert. The list goes on and on.You don't want to miss this film. It is a showcase for some of Britain's finest film actors and is truly a delight.