Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, The

Aroview: Adapted from the novel by Sloan Wilson, this powerful drama evokes the multiple crises of an Madison Avenue advertising executive (Peck), whose problems at home and flashbacks to WW2 combat, are made worse by a demanding boss and petty office backstabbing.

Although overlong by most standards, dir. Johnson plumbs issues ('work-life balance') which remain still relevant today, crafting the material with a majestic sense of its own import. If the film, which was billed by 20th Century Fox as "the very greatest', is not quite that, it has the ambition and hard-knuckled performances to at least be in the running.