Nothing But The Best
It’s never quite enough for Jimmy Brewster, but why should it be, as capable as those around him but always lacking advantage to leverage his modest position upwards, not for determination but of good breeding, a working class lad whose aspirations are thwarted for his lack of financial reserves and connections in Horton and Company, Auctioneers and Estate Agents where he is asked to induct a novice who will swiftly move above him purely by dint of his heritage.
Drowning his miseries, a chance encounter brings opportunity for Jimmy; while short on cash, Charlie Prince has a well-placed family and can show Jimmy the quick way to the top, so long as Jimmy can fund them both until his stipend arrives and has no pesky scruples getting in the way, and soon enough Jimmy is learning bad habits and crashing society parties, a fast learner of the ways of inveigling and improvising, a new life he will be hard pressed to leave.
Based on the short story The Best of Everything by Frederic Raphael, Nothing But The Best was released in 1964, directed by Clive Donner and starring The Go-Between’s Alan Bates as Jimmy Brewster alongside Alfie’s Denholm Elliott as Charlie Prince, a man accustomed to landing on his feet and others picking up the tab for his misdeeds, Modesty Blaise’s Harry Andrews as senior partner Mister Horton, and Millicent Martin as his daughter Ann, the charming embodiment of all that Jimmy envies and desires.
While Room at the Top was a grim look at class in the deprived north, Nothing But The Best is London exploding into the sixties, epitomised by an brief appearance of “It Girl” and soon to be Doctor Who companion Anneke Wills, colourful, bold, full of promise and possibility as Jimmy starts his ascent, a satire which takes an unexpected turn and goes a bit Talented Mr. Ripley as Jimmy overreacts when a threat to his new lifestyle manifests, dependent on the forbearance of his landlady Mrs March (Pauline Delaney) whose silence has a price of its own attached.
The ensemble a who’s who of British film and comedy of the time featuring Nigel Stock, James Villiers and Donald Pickering, while both Willie Rushton and the wonderful Martin had been regular contributors to That Was The Week That Was, as the principal romantic interest Ann is more than just a foil, an independent woman with no desire to compromise or sell herself short, practical rather than starry-eyed, a woman who has been brought up in a position of control and authority and knows her own worth.
Shot by Nicolas Roeg and with a soundtrack by Ron Grainer, StudioCanal’s new restoration of Nothing But The Best is supported by an archive interview with Clive Donner conducted at the University of London in 1972 and a new conversation with Frederic Raphael who adapted his own work for the screenplay, reflecting on this film, written and produced in a haste which is never apparent on screen, and his professional relationships with directors Donner, John Schlesinger and Stanley Kubrick.
