How to Get Ahead in Advertising

May 5, 1989

1h 35m

★ 6.3

The career where two heads are better than one.

Overview

Pressure from his boss and a skin-cream client produces a talking boil on a British adman's neck.

Genres

Fantasy

Comedy

Drama

Production Companies

Virgin Films

Handmade Films

How to Get Ahead in Advertising Trailers

Cast

Denis Dimbleby Bagley

Richard E. Grant

Julia Bagley

Rachel Ward

John Bristol

Richard Wilson

Penny Wheelstock

Jacqueline Tong

Monica

Susan Wooldridge

Psychiatrist

John Shrapnel

Harry Wax

Hugh Armstrong

Richard

Mick Ford

Maud

Jacqueline Pearce

Waiter

Christopher Simon

Waiter

Gino Melvazzi

Tweedy Man

Victor Lucas

Having been discharged from the Marines for a hayfever condition before ever seeing action, Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith delays the return to his hometown, feeling that he is a failure. While in a moment of melancholy, he meets up with a group of Marines who befriend him and encourage him to return home to his mother by fabricating a story that he was wounded in battle with honorable discharge.

5.2

Gun Shy

Feb 4, 2000

Legendary undercover DEA agent Charlie Mayough has suddenly lost his nerves of steel. On the verge of a career-induced mental breakdown, and in complete fear of trigger-happy Mafia leader Fulvio Nesstra, Charlie seeks psychiatric help and finds himself relying on the support of an unstable therapy group and nurse Judy just to get through his work.

4.8

Baby Face Harrington

Apr 12, 1935

Thanks to a series of comic mishaps, a timid, small-town office clerk finds himself wanted by the police and labeled by the media as "Public Enemy No. 2."

6.4

The Ruling Class

Sep 13, 1972

When the Earl of Gurney dies in a cross-dressing accident, his schizophrenic son, Jack, inherits the Gurney estate. Jack is not the average nobleman; he sings and dances across the estate and thinks he is Jesus reincarnated. Believing that Jack is mentally unfit to own the estate, the Gurney family plots to steal Jack's inheritance. As their outrageous schemes fail, the family strives to cure Jack of his bizarre behavior, with disastrous results.

7.2

The Hawks and the Sparrows

May 4, 1966

A man and his son take an allegorical stroll through life with a talking bird that spouts social and political philosophy.

6.2

Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael

Oct 12, 1990

Movie star Roxy Carmichael is abandoning the bright lights of Hollywood, Calif. and returning to her small Ohio hometown -- at least long enough to dedicate a city building. And now the whole town of Clyde is bracing for Carmichael's return, most of all her now-married old flame Denton Webb and troubled teen Dinky Bossetti. An orphan with few friends, Dinky is convinced that Carmichael is her birth mother, and that the actress will reclaim her when she returns.

7.4

Welcome Mr. Marshall!

Apr 4, 1953

A small Spanish town, Villar del Río, is alerted to the upcoming visit of American diplomats and its ruling townsmen begin preparations to impress the American visitors, in the hopes of benefiting under the Marshall Plan. Hoping to demonstrate the side of Spanish culture with which the visiting foreign officials would be more familiarized, the Castilian citizens don unfamiliar Andalusian costumes, hire a renowned flamenco performer, and re-decorate their town in Andalusian style, meantime waiting for their uncertain arrival.

7.0

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House

Mar 25, 1948

An advertising executive dreams of getting out of the city and building a perfect home in the country, only to find the transition fraught with problems.

5.9

Carry On Jack

Feb 23, 1964

Tenth entry in the Carry On series. Able seaman Poop-Decker signs up for adventure on the high seas with the wicked Captain Fearless. Those swabbing the decks include Juliet Mills, Charles Hawtrey and Donald Houston. The film was originally to be titled Up the Armada, but the British Board of Film Censors objected to such a rude title.

6.5

Carry On Spying

Jun 1, 1964

Carry On favourite Barbara Windsor makes her debut in this outrageous send-up of the James Bond movies. Fearless agent Desmond Simpkins and Charlie Bind, aided and abetted by the comely Agent Honeybutt and Agent Crump, battle against the evil powers of international bad guys STENCH and their three cronies.

6.9

Le Million

Feb 4, 1931

Debt-ridden painter Michel is overcome with joy at discovering that he has just won 1 million florins in the Dutch lottery, but almost immediately, he discovers that his softhearted girlfriend, Béatrice, has given away his jacket containing the winning ticket to an elderly petty thief. Soon Michel, Beatrice and Michel's artistic rival, Prosper, are hurtling through the streets of Paris on the trail of the missing jacket.

7.1

Logorama

May 16, 2009

Two cops portrayed by Michelin Men chase an armed Ronald McDonald through the streets of a fictionalized, stylized city.

7.2

Forgotten Silver

Oct 3, 1997

The life story of Colin McKenzie, a forgotten pioneer of international cinema who was born in rural New Zealand in 1888.

7.3

Rejected

Jul 25, 2000

A hilarious collection of animated television commercials that were rejected because of their creator's failing grip on sanity.

6.4

Putney Swope

Jul 10, 1969

Swope—the only black man on the executive board of an advertising firm—is accidentally put in charge after the death of the chairman.

7.2

The Lavender Hill Mob

Jun 28, 1951

A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipments of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country.

7.4

Now, Voyager

Oct 22, 1942

A woman suffers a nervous breakdown and an oppressive mother before being freed by the love of a man she meets on a cruise.

5.2

Hook, Line and Sinker

Dec 26, 1930

Two fast-talking insurance salesmen meet Mary, who is running away from her wealthy mother, and they agree to help her run a hotel that she owns. When they find out that the hotel is run down and nearly abandoned, they launch a phony PR campaign that presents the hotel as a resort favored by the rich. Their advertising succeeds too well, and many complications soon arise.