The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

The Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – A ruthless newspaper columnist and an unethical press agent conspire to ruin the life of a young musician to keep him from marrying the columnist’s sister.

Directed by Alexander Mackendrick                                  Starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis

This is a love story to the sordid underbelly of New York City.  Mackendrick fills the movie with shot after beautiful shot of late 1950’s New York after dark.  Add in some classic ’50s Jazz in the soundtrack and it makes the city come alive.  It’s a feast for the eyes.  And the movie takes place almost entirely at night.  That’s when the lowlifes like Sidney Falco (Curtis) and J.J. Hunsecker (Lancaster) come out.  This is their movie and theirs alone.  Everyone else is just a player on their stage.

Hunsecker is based on longtime columnist Walter Winchell.  Modern viewers might be surprised at how much “pull” the character has, and think it’s not realistic.  In his day Winchell had that much impact on both the performing community and in politics.  And like Hunsecker he wasn’t afraid to play the bully.  That his ilk has passed the way of the Dodo and the dinosaur is not a thing to be mourned.  Lancaster is as cold as ice here.  His character revels in his power and uses it on anyone and everyone in his grasp.  In Falco, he has the perfect stooge.  Sidney desperately wants the older man’s respect (which he will never receive) and equally desperately needs whatever crumbs may fall from the fingers of the powerful columnist.  Neither is ashamed of who they are or what they do to get what they want.  They are a perfect pair, precisely matched in venom and viciousness.  Nothing is beyond the limits of their “morals”.  The only ethic they recognize is power and the decisive use of it.

The two leads are brilliant as the two bloodless vipers of the night.  Hunsecker sums them both up nicely when he tells Falco ” You’re a cookie filled with arsenic”.  Arsenic, ground glass, and maggots of the soul.  It’s awe-inspiring to watch.

Why You Will Like It:  A gorgeous look at NYC back in the day, and two stunning performances.

Rating – ***** A Must See