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Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Martin Milner, Sam Levene ... see more see more... , Barbara Nichols , Jeff Donnell , Joseph Leon , Edith Atwater , Emile G. Meyer , Joe Frisco , David White , Lawrence Dobkin , Lurene Tuttle , Queenie Smith , Autumn Russell , Jay Adler , Lewis Charles , Chico Hamilton , The Chico Hamilton Quintet

Ernest Lehman drew upon his experiences as a Broadway press agent to write the devastating a clef short story "Tell Me About Tomorrow." This in turn was adapted by Lehman and Clifford Odets into the s... read more read more...harp-edged, penetrating feature film Sweet Smell of Success. Burt Lancaster stars as J. J. Hunsecker, a Walter Winchell-style columnist who wields his power like a club, steamrolling friends and enemies alike. Tony Curtis co-stars as Sidney Falco, a sycophantic press agent who'd sell his grandmother to get an item into Hunsecker's popular newspaper column. Hunsecker enlists Falco's aid in ruining the reputation of jazz guitarist Steve Dallas (Martin Milner), who has had the temerity to court Hunsecker's sister Susan (Susan Harrison). Falco contrives to plant marijuana on Dallas, then summons corrupt, sadistic NYPD officer Harry Kello (Emile Meyer), who owes Hunsecker several favors, to arrest the innocent singer. The real Walter Winchell, no longer as powerful as he'd been in the 1940s but still a man to be reckoned with, went after Ernest Lehman with both barrels upon the release of Sweet Smell of Success. Winchell was not so much offended by the unflattering portrait of himself as by the dredging up of an unpleasant domestic incident from his past. While Success was not a success at the box office, it is now regarded as a model of street-smart cinematic cynicism. The electric performances of the stars are matched by the taut direction of Alex MacKendrick, the driving jazz score of Elmer Bernstein, and the evocative nocturnal camerawork of James Wong Howe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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90% liked it

5,960 ratings

Critics

98% liked it

45 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: Alexander Mackendrick

Release Date: June 27, 1957

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DVD Release Date: June 19, 2001

Stats: 505 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (505)

  • FilmFanatik
    November 8, 2011
    FilmFanatik
    The word tense doesn't even begin to describe Alexander Mackendrick's psychologically unsettling masterpiece Sweet Smell of Success. Carrying perhaps the best performances of both Burt Lancaster's and Tony Curtis' careers, the film is a brilliant take on the real life persona of ... read moreWalter Winchell, but also, a personal journey for its two leads. At the end of the film, Lancaster's character loses his only living thread to humanity and Sidney Falco, as played by Curtis, loses in his fight to get ahead and pays for all of his wrongdoings. It's such a fantastic work from beginning to end. You can cut the tension in the story with a knife. I sat with a sick feeling in my stomach the entire time and was relieved at the end. Few films have ever done that to me.
  • jjnxn
    August 10, 2011
    jjnxn
    About as hard edged as a movie can be. As a look at a group of venal people it can't be beat but this is a very loathsome group so spending any time with them could never be described as a pleasant experience. Burt and Tony both give outstanding performances, the whole cast is ve... read morery fine, but the wonderful Barbara Nichols stands out in her brief scenes as a sad sweet girl who has been treated badly by life, one of the few people in the picture who engenders any sympathy.
  • garyX
    July 26, 2011
    garyX
    This pitch black hearted noir was something of a flop on its release, and it's not difficult to see why. Not through lack of quality, but rather the fact that its unrelenting cynicism and bleak outlook is certainly not for the faint hearted. Tony Curtis turns in easily his best p... read moreerformance as Sidney Falco, an obsequious press agent who is perfectly willing to sell his soul to get on top, and Burt Lancaster is similarly superb, brilliantly cast against type as a cold-hearted tyrant (even describing an attack on his character as an attack on his country, the cry of despots throughout the ages) who controls all around him through contemptible manipulation. The core of the film is the creepily ambiguous relationship between he and his sister; at one point he refers to her "apron strings", an allusion to motherhood, but he also keeps a portrait on his desk as one would a spouse or lover... It is unusual in that instead of fists and bullets, all the damage is done through words and insinuations; the razor sharp dialogue is amongst the best ever written for the screen, and the magnificent photography represents the city streets as blackly as the protagonists' hearts. The package is completed by a soundtrack of fantastic contemporary jazz and the overall result is one of the pinnacles of film noir.
  • jennifxu
    April 28, 2011
    jennifxu
    The codependency of JJ and Falco is one for the books, that slimy, gritty animalistic relationship of prey and predator, agent and sellout - almost homoerotic at times. I haven't been wowed by a film in a such a long time when one creeps up on you you really can't forget it.
  • axadntpron
    March 31, 2011
    axadntpron
    A fairly straightforward but well acted film about the dark side of those crazed by the "sweet smell of success." In an attempt to secure a name for himself, Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) is willing to go to any length. When prodigious columnist J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) promi... read moreses Falco notoriety in exchange for slandering his sister's lover, the two weave a web of lies, betrayal, and heartache, which amass a significant amount of collateral damage. Both lead by the "theology of making a fast buck" these two men use the careers of quality men as stepping stones in order to gain ground. Lancaster is fantastic as he always is and Curtis succeeds in portraying a morally fickle man caught in the grips of greed. Yet, where the film falls flat for me is the lack of presence by Mackendrick. While I do admire directors who are more austere when it comes to making a film, I still want to feel their presence. There was nothing in this film that made me want to really seek out Mackendrick's other work because it seemed as though anybody could have directed the film. Maybe he trusted the acting and story so much that he felt he could just roll without putting too much focus on the style. I don't really know. In the end, It is a bleak and well acted film about the suspension of morality in pursuit of personal gain
  • mjgildea
    February 26, 2011
    mjgildea
    Sweet Smell of Success is proof that nastiness can be beautiful. The direction and cinematography are breathtaking and every bit as gritty as the darkest film noir. The script is razor sharp sleaze and the performances are outstanding. Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis perpetually r... read moreaise the ante on each other to the point where its almost unbearable. The Sweet Smell of Success is the kind of movie that gets better every time you see it and is exactly what Lancaster's character calls Curtis' character--a cookie full of arsenic.
  • ajv2688
    November 17, 2010
    ajv2688
    This is a good drama, the actors are good and the story is good. I liked it.
  • rubystevens
    September 30, 2010
    rubystevens
    bernard schwartz proves he's more than just a pretty face in this acid masterpiece. lancaster's character, j.j. hunsecker, was based on all powerful new york gossip columnist walter winchell. famously razor-sharp dialogue largely by black-listed playwright clifford odets and ma... read morervelous direction on location by alexander mackendrick. rip, tony curtis, last of hollywood's matinee idols
  • pier007
    August 21, 2010
    pier007
    I've known in my life and seen in movies real sons of bitches who, as someone wisely says here, live by the philosophy of making a quick buck everyday without knowing nor caring about how their decisions would affect others.

    Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis both play that kind of... read more immoral and selfish weasel with absolute perfection. two hustlers, one at the top of the food chain and the other one intending to fit in those shoes someday. They can't get enough of spreading all their malice over some very few honest citizens that inhabit their corrupt domains.

    stylishly directed and photographed. Written with tremendous perspicacity and wit. The pen is mightier than the sword, indeed.
  • flixsterman
    December 13, 2009
    flixsterman
    Tony Curtis shines as a sleazy press agent "immersed in the theology of making a fast buck" while Burt Lancaster is a powerful New York columnist who uses Curtis to sabotage the romance between his sister and a jazz musician. Of course, things don't go exactly as planned (do they... read more ever?). Sweet Smell of Success exposes the underbelly of New York's social scene and the high price of publicity. Great noir fare.

View All Sweet Smell of Success Reviews

Critic Reviews

April 21, 2009
TIME Magazine

Sweet Smell, which could have been offal, is raised to considerable dramatic heights by intense acting, taut direction (by Alexander Mackendrick), [and] superb camera work (by James Wong Howe). Full Review

Dave Kehr
April 21, 2009
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Mackendrick's nighthawk landscape is compellingly, poetically bleak. Full Review

Variety Staff
July 22, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

James Hill's production, locationed in Manhattan, captures the feel of Broadway and environs after dark. Full Review

Chris Vognar
May 16, 2002
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

A lean, mean amorality tale that still goes down like a cookie laced with arsenic. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
April 18, 2002
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

The main incentive to see this movie is its witty, pungent and idiomatic dialogue, such as you never hear on the screen anymore in this age of special-effects illiteracy. Full Review

A.O. Scott
March 15, 2002
A.O. Scott, New York Times

Its pleasures are almost obscenely abundant. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

One of those rare films where you remember the names of the characters because you remember them -- as people, as types, as benchmarks. Full Review

Wesley Lovell
August 15, 2011
Wesley Lovell, Oscar Guy

A meandering drama about the lure of success and the ignominious aggression of defeat. Full Review

Matthew Sorrento
March 7, 2011
Matthew Sorrento, Film Threat

It all begins with the title. The irony aside, its lightness and alliteration suggest the last breaths of one of the film's victims. Full Review

Sean Axmaker
February 26, 2011
Sean Axmaker, Parallax View

... one of the most lacerating and vicious visions of the predatory urban world in the American cinema... Full Review

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Facts

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    • J.J. Hunsecker: You're dead, son. Get yourself buried.
    • J.J. Hunsecker: My right hand hasn't seen my left hand in thirty years.
    • J.J. Hunsecker: Match me, Sidney.
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Sweet Smell of Success Trivia

  • In what film does J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster)tell Sidney Falco(Tony Curtis): "I'd hate to take a bite out of you. You're a cookie full of arsenic."   Answer »
  • Burt Lancaster stars with Tony Curtis in this movie about an all-powerful New York gossip columnist that gives a press agent some dirty work.  Answer »
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