Arthur Seaton (Finney) is a small-town factory worker whose dreary job makes him live for a wild weekend life of boozing and womanizing. He regularly beds his co-worker's wife, Brenda (Roberts), who wants more than sex; but he suddenly falls for Doreen (Field), a proper young woman who demands a commitment Arthur can't bring himself to make.

Another top quality, British "kitchen-sink" drama from the 1960s, Reisz's film launched Finney to prominence after a promising debut in Tony Richardson's "The Entertainer." Drowning five days of stagnation in one night's revelry — or is it oblivion? — Arthur is the quintessential "angry young man," as he is going nowhere and won't let himself care, either about short-term inconveniences or long-term consequences. Finney is magnetic in the lead, and both Roberts and Field make compelling love interests. Finney would go on to cement his stardom in the incomparable "Tom Jones."