"I am not available ... I am not available!"

The most interesting part of this film, what provides its tension, is the disparate emotions that the commotion/crisis upstairs generates among the observers downstairs. The landlady, the aggrieved neighbour & the artist's indifference to the plight of the mentally-disturbed scientist (Attenborough) is in contrast with that of Mrs Barnes & the welfare worker who have compassion & professional concern for him. The other tension is with the police inspector (Bernard Lee) who, enraged by what happened to his sergeant, wants to storm Attenborough's room, while the others want to keep negotiating with him. Most of The Man Upstairs' dramatic action & conflict takes place downstairs. Mrs Barnes (Dorothy Alison) throughout the film speaks with an Australian accent, which surrounded by a potpourri of Poms is never explained.