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Plot:
J.J. Hunsecker, a powerful New York newspaper columnist, is dead set against his sister's marrying a jazz musician. Sidney Falco, a sleazy PR man, will do anything to get publicity for his clients, an...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:July 27, 2008
LETTERBOX. La presentación audiovisual y la orquestación escénica son extraordinarias, y la historia fluye a la perfección durante la mayor parte, pero sobreenfatiza lo obvio hacia el final. / Extraordinary presentation audiovisually and in the orchestration of scenes, and the story flows perfectly most of the time, but tends to overstate the obvious towards the end.
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MCT:July 24, 2008
I'm afraid it doesn't live up to its reputation. In spite of having very good performances, the characters seem a bit void and Lancaster's in particular acts out of pure spite and the sister bit doesn't quite seem to explain his drive.
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MCT:July 12, 2008
the title of this film is the complete irony of it. tony curtis was brilliant as sidney falco... and burt lancaster helped him along. usually i find lancaster a tad annoying but he did his one dimensional role here pretty well. it's sidney (curtis) that is the interesting party here. he's the PR from hell who's having doubts about his way of life. can he continue blindy hurting people? or will the trouble he causes for J.J. as his yes man eventually get him into trouble with his conscence and the people who surround him? one of the best oldies i've seen along with the apartment. the dialogue is masterly. success or downfall? well done alexander mackendrick whoever ya be
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MCT:July 12, 2008This 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 performance 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.
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MCT:July 8, 2008
Brilliant dialogues, great cinematography, vibrant chemistry between Curtis and Lancaster... A little dated, but the former three make up for it. And is there a reason why Barbara Nichols has highjacked this film's page? :S
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MCT:July 5, 2008
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 ever?). Sweet Smell of Success exposes the underbelly of New York's social scene and the high price of publicity. Great noir fare.
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MCT:June 26, 2008
After being shown this at school as part of an exercise in directing film, Im pretty familiar with the techincal aspects of this which are, frankly, brilliant.
Thankfully so are the plot and characters, making this quite a bundle of cinematic goodness.
It is quite a departure from the the ealing comedies which made me familiar with MacKendrick.
...and Craig, read his book. it rocks. -
MCT:October 27, 2007For me, this is the coolest movie ever made. The dialogue flows like jazz, and the visuals capture the raw energy of NY. Martin Scorcese credits this film for influencing hiw work in Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, and other films. Barry Levinson pays tribute to the writing in his own great film, "Diner".
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MCT:September 10, 2007
One of the most insightful pictures ever made about transitory nature of fame and success, and of the tragedy that is entailed in their pursuit.
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MCT:September 9, 2007
A really great film, with two stunning central performances from Curtis and Lancaster. Because Curtis was often either shit in films, or in shit films, it is easy to forget why he was such a big movie star. Watch this, The Defiant Ones, Some Like it Hot, The Boston Strangler and even The Vikings and you will be reminded why people were prepared to flock to see him.
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MCT:July 8, 2007
"You're dead, son. Get yourself buried." "Here's your head -- what's your hurry?" "The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river." This movie boasts the sharpest, funniest dialogue ever. Not a single line spoken by Hunsecker or Falco is wasted.
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MCT:May 30, 2007
a great american movie--probably underrated, certainly not as well known or well regarded as it should be.
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MCT:April 23, 2007
Burt Lancaster is great. But the moment I really love is at the end, Susan Harrison is asked a question by Tony, her eyes are downcast when she brings her eyes up the look on her face is amazing!
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MCT:March 12, 2007
This along with Double Indemnity has my favorite cigarette being lit scene ever. This is an incredibly nasty and acrid noir filled with a lush, smoky jazz soundtrack. Maybe not the best film to watch when you're in a bad mood but certainly very cool.
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MCT:February 19, 2007
Smart, ultra-hip and uncompromising look at the seedier side of showbiz. Lancaster and Curtis excel as the incestuous, power-mad media mogul and his faustian sidekick respectively.
Great script, cool music (Chico Hamilton) and top-notch cinematography mark this out as one of the great movies of the 50's. Rarely is Hollywood so acidic. -
MCT:February 11, 2007
A movie where the protagonist is a slimeball. Interesting to see the seedy side of media's machinations already hard at work decades ago.
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MCT:January 17, 2007
its about freedom but that can be used. like a guy who has all his stuff taken away. jj needed ppl who would be horrible like ppl who thought hewa sa awesome.
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MCT:November 12, 2006
For as great as this movie is, watching in can be quite a daunting task. Not the feel-good hit of the summer, but it is good.
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MCT:October 21, 2006
One of my all time favourite noirs, when I saw this I was blown away by the crisp and dark visual style as well as it's great look at the dark side of success. It's a great companion film to Sunset Blvd., and The Bad and the Beautiful although for very different reasons. This is the world populated not by the stars, but by the struggling starlets and the people who decide to make or break them. Of all the makers and breakers, it's J.J. Hunsecker (Lancaster) who leads the pack with his column, he gets himself entagled with small time player Falco (Tony Curtis, who never looked better) as he hired him to keep his sister from marrying a jazz musician.
This dark and unforgiving look at Falco and Hunsecker is one for the books. Falco is a desperate Press Agent who will do anything for a buck, for a name in the paper. He tries to sell his girlfriend's body for time and to keep clients, he is almost without remorse or conscious. Curtis plays Falco in arguably his best screen performance, with gutsy and charm. His act is so transparent, although at this point he's starting to believe it himself. On the other hand there is Hunsecker, whose bought into his own self importance. He believes he's important, and although it's almost certain once he was a Falco he looks down on him as being the spit on the sidewalk. They are incredibly detestable, so much so that many people really just can't watch and enjoy this film. They are contrasted by the young couple, but they are boring. Hunsecker's relationship with his sister is one that sparks a lot of interest and debate, his "love" for her is what drives him to work with Falco, he can't bear the thought of her moving out of his home. There is an incestuous undertone, matched with his jealousy for Falco's looks and way with women. He's powerful, but he still can't buy what Falco has naturally.
The high contrast black and white photography captures the dirt as well as the strange beauty of the seedy and high class clubs of the New York downtown area. The small, clausphobic feel of these clubs floating with smoke and although no smell-o-vision is being used I'm sure interesting odours, add to the feel of trapped rodents in a maze. They are caught in this game that has people's lives and reputations in their hands. So much lies in what they do, and from our outside perspective we are frightened by how they could live without remorse... and then perhaps that's what's needed in what they do. Feelings just get in the way of success, and those who have to stop to help people or really care fall behind or never make it anywhere. It's a dark lesson that audiences in the 1950s probably didn't want to accept, and it bombed critically and commercially.
Despite it's initial failure over the years this is a film whose reputation has grown. For those who have seen it, it often makes top lists of films and noirs. It's nihilistic and cynical, one of the darkest of the dark. -
MCT:September 29, 2006
THE best dialogue and best black and white photography in any film i can think of. check it out now.
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MCT:March 23, 2006
one of the best movies ever made. watch the masterful dialogue, direction and performances. My favorite movie of all time.
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