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Submitted by cinemascope on Mon, 2006-06-12 13:21. :: Classic
Movie title:
Sweet Smell of Success
Starring:
Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Susan Harrison, Marty Milner
Directed by:
Alexander Mackendrick
Written by:
Clifford Odets, from the novel by Ernest Lehman
Genre:
Drama/Film Noir
Year:
1957
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Runtime:
96 minutes
Imdb:
Rating:
Synopsis
New York newspaper columnist JJ Hunsecker (Lancaster) is determined that his sister (Harrison) should not marry jazz musician Steve Dallas (Milner). He enlists ambitious press agent Sidney Falco (Curtis) to break up the relationship.
New York newspaper columnist JJ Hunsecker (Lancaster) is determined that his sister (Harrison) should not marry jazz musician Steve Dallas (Milner). He enlists ambitious press agent Sidney Falco (Curtis) to break up the relationship.
Review
Mackendrick moves seamlessly from Ealing comedies to this noir-tinged drama, casting both Curtis and Lancaster against type to brilliant effect, and exposing the dark underbelly of the New York press of the 50s. Claustrophobically shot in tight two-shots and close-ups, Lancaster’s enormous bespectacled face fills the screen as he ruthlessly exploits and manipulates all around him – it’s a career best performance from an actor who usually played solid masculine heroes. Pretty-boy heart-throb Curtis also took a risk in portraying such a slimy individual, but his Falco provides the complex heart of the film, and he pulls it off with aplomb. Odets’ script is verbose and complex and intelligent in a way that is all too rare in cinema since. It’s difficult to imagine two huge Hollywood stars portraying such unsympathetic characters in such a bitter, dark-hearted film in the 21st century, mainly because it’s hard to imagine a studio taking interest in such a meaty script.
Mackendrick moves seamlessly from Ealing comedies to this noir-tinged drama, casting both Curtis and Lancaster against type to brilliant effect, and exposing the dark underbelly of the New York press of the 50s. Claustrophobically shot in tight two-shots and close-ups, Lancaster’s enormous bespectacled face fills the screen as he ruthlessly exploits and manipulates all around him – it’s a career best performance from an actor who usually played solid masculine heroes. Pretty-boy heart-throb Curtis also took a risk in portraying such a slimy individual, but his Falco provides the complex heart of the film, and he pulls it off with aplomb. Odets’ script is verbose and complex and intelligent in a way that is all too rare in cinema since. It’s difficult to imagine two huge Hollywood stars portraying such unsympathetic characters in such a bitter, dark-hearted film in the 21st century, mainly because it’s hard to imagine a studio taking interest in such a meaty script.
