On this Day 1959: Peter Sellers talks I’m All Right Jack

OTD, October 22nd 1959…

Leslie Dunn interviewed actor Peter Sellers and director John Boulting for Midland Montage. The two were promoting their new film ‘I’m All Right Jack’.

The late fifties British comedy, directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting, was scripted by Frank Harvey, John Boulting, and Alan Hackney, based on Alan Hackney’s 1958 novel, “Private Life.“

The plot sees Stanley Windrush (Ian Carmichael) converse with his father at Sunnyglades Nudist Camp and is convinced to pursue a position as a business executive. He interviews at “Detto,” a company that produces washing detergent, but leaves a poor impression and does not secure the job. His next interview is at “Num-Yum,” a processed cake factory. Despite the cakes tasting pleasant, the manufacturing process is quite unsettling. Overindulging in samples leads to him becoming ill in a batch of the product. Once again, he is unsuccessful in his job application. The recruitment agent informs Windrush through a letter that after 11 interviews in 10 days and consistently failing to impress, the industry may not be suitable for him.

His uncle, Bertram Tracepurcel (Dennis Price) and his old army comrade, Sidney DeVere Cox (Richard Attenborough), persuade Windrush to take an unskilled blue-collar job at Tracepurcel’s missile factory, Missiles Ltd. Initially wary of Windrush, the overzealous newcomer, communist shop steward Fred Kite (Peter Sellers) demands Stanley’s dismissal for lacking a union card. Yet, following a work-to-rule phase, he warms up to Stanley, even proposing he become a lodger. Upon the arrival of Kite’s daughter Cynthia (Liz Frazer), Stanley is quick to accept.

Meanwhile, Personnel Manager Major Hitchcock (Terry Thomas) receives an assignment to work with a time and motion study expert named Waters (John Le Mesurier), to assess employee efficiency. The workers are uncooperative, yet Waters deceives Windrush into demonstrating his forklift truck proficiency, which surpasses that of his more seasoned colleagues.

Upon learning of these results, Kite instigates a strike to safeguard his union workers’ pay rates. This plays into the hands of Cox and Tracepurcel: Cox, who owns a company poised to assume a lucrative contract with a Middle Eastern nation at an inflated price, stands to gain along with Tracepurcel and Mr Mohammed, the nation’s envoy, splitting the £100,000 markup (equivalent to £2.9 million today) among themselves. They justify the inflated cost to the foreign government by claiming that expedited contracts incur higher charges.

The union convenes and opts to ostracize Windrush by “sending him to Coventry,” a decision communicated to him in writing. The situation deteriorates for all involved. Cox reaches his factory, Union Jack Foundries, only to discover his employees are staging a sympathy strike. Media outlets report that Kite is reprimanding Windrush for his diligence. Upon choosing to defy the strike and return to work, revealing his ties to the owner of the company, Windrush is expelled from Kite’s residence. This incites Cynthia and her mother, who admire him, to initiate their own strike. Subsequently, additional strikes erupt, culminating in a nationwide halt.

Confronted with these recent events, Tracepurcel is compelled to dispatch Hitchcock to engage in negotiations with Kite. They come to a consensus, yet Windrush’s actions have tarnished the reputation of both parties, necessitating his departure.

Cox attempts to bribe Windrush with a substantial sum of money to secure his resignation, yet Windrush declines. During a televised debate program called “Argument,” moderated by Malcolm Muggeridge, Windrush exposes the deceitful intentions of everyone involved. His act of tossing Cox’s bribe money into the air incites a riot among the studio audience.

Ultimately, Windrush is charged with causing a disturbance and is ordered to maintain the peace for 12 months. The final scene shows him relaxing with his father at a nudist colony, only to find himself needing to escape the attentions of the female residents. In contrast to the opening scene, he is now without clothing.