Sweet Smell of Success (film)
"Sweet Smell of Success" is a film noir released in 1957 that offers a stark portrayal of the ruthless world of New York gossip columns and the entertainment industry. The film centers on the toxic relationship between a press agent named Sidney Falco, played by Tony Curtis, and the powerful newspaper columnist J.J. Hunsecker, portrayed by Burt Lancaster. With its sharp black-and-white cinematography and a stylish script, the film delves into themes of ambition, manipulation, and moral decay among the characters, both of whom exhibit equally repulsive traits. The story unfolds as Falco seeks to regain Hunsecker's favor after a falling out, resorting to increasingly unscrupulous tactics to manipulate others and secure his own success. Despite its initial box-office failure, "Sweet Smell of Success" has gained critical acclaim over the years, recognized as one of the greatest films ever made and included in the Library of Congress National Film Registry. The film's impactful dialogue and cinematography have influenced many filmmakers, inspiring works by directors such as Martin Scorsese. Notably, the film was adapted into a Broadway musical in 2002, highlighting its lasting cultural significance.
On this Page
Sweet Smell of Success (film)
- Release Date: 1957
- Director(s): Alexander Mackendrick
- Writer(s): Ernest Lehman ; Clifford Odets
- Principal Actors and Roles: Tony Curtis (Sidney Falco); Burt Lancaster (J. J. Hunsecker); Susan Harrison (Susan Hunsecker); Sam Levene (Frank D'Angelo); Marty Milner (Steve Dallas); Barbara Nichols (Rita)
- Book / Story Film Based On: Sweet Smell of Success by Ernest Lehman
Sweet Smell of Success is a hard-edged film noir about the supposedly glamorous world of New York nightclubs, performers, and columnists who cover the glitterati. The movie is an uncompromising look at the seamy underside of a heartlessly ambitious and ruthless world. The sharp, stark black-and-white cinematography is a perfect complement to the taut, stylish script, and the end result is a true masterpiece.
The story is in many ways a dual character study, with the two male leads portraying equally repulsive, amoral characters. One is a vicious, brutal bully, and the other aspires to be the same. In the meantime, he is oily and revoltingly obsequious. The Manhattan settings and the jazzy soundtrack are almost characters in the film as well.
In many ways the story was too dark for audiences and critics alike in 1957, but it has steadily gained greater acclaim ever since. Its two stars played against their types. It was Burt Lancaster’s first film performance as a villain, and Tony Curtis gave his best performance ever in the breakout role of Sidney Falco. They delivered extraordinary presentations of unethical, morally bankrupt, utterly repulsive players in the world of tabloid public relations.
The movie’s overriding tone of menace and decadence is a far cry from the director’s other work. Alexander Mackendrick was best known for light comedies he directed in Great Britain, notably Man in a White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955). Yet his first American movie is one of the darkest of the late-noir films.
Lancaster was one of the first actors to become a major producer, and the film was produced by HHL Productions. It was named for his agent Harold Hecht, screenwriter and producer James Hill, and Lancaster. Hecht-Hill-Lancaster had a number of hits in the 1950s, including a best picture Oscar for Marty, but Sweet Smell of Success was a box-office failure. Yet it made numerous important "10 Best" lists in 1957, and its reputation has only improved since then.
Plot
The relentlessly bleak story revolves around Manhattan press agent Sidney Falco’s dependent relationship with a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist named J.J. Hunsecker. Falco’s livelihood is utterly dependent on getting his clients mentioned in the New York gossip columns, and for five days Hunsecker has frozen him out. Hunsecker is punishing Falco for failing to destroy a relationship between Hunsecker’s sister Susan and a jazz musician named Steve Dallas.
Falco is obsequious to the bullying, cruel Hunsecker because he longs for everything Hunsecker has—a limousine, a reserved booth in the best clubs, and fawning sycophants begging for his favor. When Hunsecker ignores Falco’s clients, the press agent starts to lose money. Falco grabs one last opportunity to do Hunsecker’s bidding, planting a false story with one of Hunsecker’s bitter rivals that Dallas is a dope-smoking communist. Falco then suggests that Hunsecker defend the musician. Falco’s thought is that Dallas will reject the help and end up alienating Susan.
Falco uses a series of ever-sleazier machinations to get the false story planted. As predicted, Dallas responds insultingly to Hunsecker, and Susan is forced to choose between her older brother and the man she loves. She rejects Dallas not because she doubts him but in an effort to protect him from her powerful, vindictive brother. However, Hunsecker is too angry to leave it at the end of his sister’s relationship. He wants Falco to plant marijuana on Dallas so a corrupt policeman can arrest the musician and rough him up.
Not even Falco can bring himself to agree until Hunsecker dangles the possibility of Falco taking over his column for a "long vacation." Falco does what Hunsecker asks, and Dallas is duly arrested.
Falco then receives a call asking him to come to Hunsecker’s penthouse. There he finds Susan on the verge of committing suicide. Falco grabs the girl just as Hunsecker arrives. Hunsecker assumes Falco is attempting an assault, and when Susan says nothing, begins to beat the weaker man. Falco says he is only there because Hunsecker called him, which Hunsecker denies. Falco comes to realize that Susan brought him to the apartment so that the men would attack one another.
Falco reveals that Hunsecker in effect forced him to try to ruin Susan’s lover, leading Hunsecker to call the corrupt cop to come after Falco. The press agent tries to flee but is captured in Times Square.
Susan packs her bags and admits to her brother that she attempted suicide. She tells him that death is preferable to living with him. She leaves in search of Dallas, closing by telling Hunsecker that does not hate him; she pities him. Falco is beaten by the cop while Hunsecker stares into his empty apartment.
Significance
Sweet Smell of Success is widely considered one of the greatest movies ever made. It was included in the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1993. The American Film Institute named J.J. Hunsecker thirty-fifth on its list of the top-fifty movie villains.
The film’s dialogue is so good and distinctive that it has achieved cult status. Barry Levinson paid homage to it by having a character in the 1982 movie Diner quoting it endlessly. Its cinematography has also had a wide influence. Martin Scorsese modelled the hellish appearance of New York City in both Mean Streets in 1973 and Taxi Driver in 1976 on Sweet Smell of Success. The movie is playing on the TV screen in Dustin Hoffman’s hotel room in the 1988 movie Rain Man. The "Contract" episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which first aired on June 15, 2008, was a tribute to the movie, with Mo Rocca playing a gossip columnist based explicitly on J.J. Hunsecker and other characters repeating lines from the Sweet Smell of Success script. And perhaps most incredibly of all, the unremittingly dark movie was turned into a Broadway musical in 2002—where it lasted only three months.
Bibliography
Andreychuk, Ed. Burt Lancaster: A Filmography and Biography. Jefferson: McFarland, 2000. Print.
Barsam, Richard and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. 4th ed. New York: Norton, 2012. Electronic, print.
Ebert, Roger. The Great Movies. New York: Three Rivers, 2003. Electronic, print.
Hirsch, Foster. The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir. Boston: Da Capo, 2008. Electronic, print.
Odets, Clifford, and Ernest Lehman. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) Full Movie Shooting Script. N.p.: University Reprints, 2012. Print.
Osteen, Mark. Nightmare Alley: Film Noir and the American Dream. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2013. Electronic, print.
Silver, Alain, and James Ursine, eds. Film Noir Reader. Milwaukee: Limelight Editions, 1996. Electronic, print.
Watson, John V. Film Noir—The Classic Era: 1941 to 1959. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services, 2014. Electronic.