The Man Upstairs – 1958 | 88 mins | Drama | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Psychological melodrama drawing on Le Jour se Leve (1939) for its claustrophobic plot device as the residents of a seedy boarding house, welfare officer and police clash over how best to deal with a suicidal and violent tenant. This tense and well-written drama is an engaging character study and the increasingly dramatic situation makes for some agreeable tension. Richard Attenborough produces a tortured performance as the central figure and there’s strong support from a number of distinguished character actors including Bernard Lee’s uncompromising police officer, a compassionate Donald Houston, Kenneth Griffith’s interfering busybody, a reasonable Alfred Burke and Patricia Jessel’s alcoholic landlady.

Scientist Peter Watson (Richard Attenborough) is unable to sleep and haunted by the accidental death of a workmate. He becomes mentally unstable, and after lashing out at his fellow tenants, barricades himself into his top floor flat. The police are duly called and a Sergeant attempts to question Watson, but the ill man again responds violently by pushing the officer from the landing, seriously injuring him. The situation then becomes a struggle between bullish Inspector Thompson (Bernard Lee) and sympathetic welfare officer Dr. Sanderson (Donald Houston) on how best to subdue Watson. Meanwhile, the herded tenants below hold a variety of sentiments and similarly begin arguing amongst on how best to coax down the scientist. The siege becomes further heightened when the spooked Watson fires off a revolver.