Sweet Smell of Success

1957 "Beware these “Gentlemen” of the press!"
8| 1h37m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 04 July 1957 Released
Producted By: United Artists
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan, who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas. Hunsecker strongly disapproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method.

Genre

Drama

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Director

Alexander Mackendrick

Production Companies

United Artists

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Sweet Smell of Success Audience Reviews

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks
Wordiezett So much average
Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Yashua Kimbrough (jimniexperience) Quick wits and fast lips . A film noir taking place inside the corrupt world of newspaper politics.Sidney Falco is a beat journalist for the tycoon J.J., whom treats his newspaper business the way gangsters do - very hands on full with dirty threats. Falco is J.J. personal lap-dog , digging up scandalous stories so he's featured on the front page news column.Falco now in the mix of a very messy love circle involving J.J. little sister and a jazz musician. J.J. wants their relationship broken apart by any means, and employees Falco to resort to numerous tricks to defame him: blackmailing club owners, prostituting cigarette girls for fake column news, and planting drugs for a fake cop bust.Falco just wants the biggest bone in NYC , but unfortunately he's rubbing all the wrong shoulders during the process. The town knows but he and J.J. are not to be trusted, and their scandals eventually come around to bite him on the arse
Ross622 Alexander Mackendrick's "Sweet Smell of Success" is a movie about journalists that is unlike anything that I've ever seen before and when it comes to the journalism industry it is even more shocking than Sidney Lumet's "Network" (1976) which was released 19 years after this movie came out in 1957. Burt Lancaster stars as JJ Hunsecker a very powerful columnist for the New York Globe and who has lots of readers to his name, asks a young press agent named Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) to break up the relationship between Hunsecker's little sister Susie (Susan Harrison) and a jazz musician named Steve Dallas (Martin Milner) while Falco tries to go even further as to framing him as a dope smoker. The film isn't a typical film noir with a private eye investigating a murder though it does have the ingredients of one. This is a movie that is truly flawless thanks to the extremely intense screenplay written by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman, the glorious black and white cinematography by James Wong Howe, Mackendrick's direction, and all of the performances especially from Lancaster and Curtis stand out from all the rest and each of them give some of the best work of their respective careers and are truly Oscar level work that was snubbed that year. In his review of this movie Roger Ebert wrote that the relationship between the Lancaster and Curtis characters was like "two junkyard dogs". of which there is no better way for me to describe it. Burt Lancaster is one of my all time favorite macho men in the movies along with John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, James Stewart, Clark Gable, Liam Neeson, Harrison Ford and many others. This film is also one of the best noirs that I've ever seen and not only is it a masterpiece, it is also one of the ten best films of 1957.
reyesking The drama in this film is severe. The crisp silhouettes, and the heavy lighting from the neck up makes for sharp, glossy shots. the style of the picture is certainly something to appreciate as well. the witty, intellectual dialogue, the jazzy night clubs and all the sleazy characters makes "the scene" of the 1950s devilishly glamorous. "sweet smell of success" is directed by Alexander Mackendrick and stars Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. although if caution is not taken following the film closely it seems to be quite easy to miss something very important especially since our protagonist are constantly plotting and scheming against each other through out the film. Burt Lancaster as j.j is a deviant, malicious Broadway columnist is quite unsettling. smart and powerful j.j is disturbingly sneaking and a master at scheming. this film can make for a great psychological suspense.
SnoopyStyle J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) is the most powerful gossip columnist writing for the New York Globe. He can make or break any entertainer or even politician. He is obsessed with his nineteen year old sister Susan and is determined to bring down her boyfriend jazz guitarist Steve Dallas. He has commanded press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) to split them up and is icing him out due to his continued failure to do so. Falco is a sleazy desperate opportunist willing to do anything and use anyone like cigarette girl Rita.This did poorly upon its release as the fans were repulsed by their matinée idols portraying ugly villains. Hunsecker and Falco have absolutely no redeeming values. The dialogue is beyond great. It snaps with fun craziness. Falco's sleaziness is delicious. I could do with a darker ending but the movie is already so dark. That would have been an even tougher sell.