Sweet Smell of Success
Tony Curtis (left) and Burt Lancaster in Sweet Smell of Success (1957), directed by Alexander Mackendrick.
Sweet Smell of Success
film by Mackendrick [1957]
Sweet Smell of Success, American film noir, released in 1957, that was praised for its intensity, intelligent dialogue, and searing look at corruption in big-city journalism. Burt Lancaster played J.J. Hunsecker, a ruthless Broadway columnist (based on Walter Winchell) who delights in destroying his enemies’ careers. Desperate to curry his favour, the publicist Sidney Falco (played by Tony Curtis) agrees to help Hunsecker break up the relationship between the columnist’s sister and a jazz musician. Sweet Smell of Success was based on the short story “Tell Me About It Tomorrow” by Ernest Lehman, who cowrote the screenplay with Clifford Odets. ...(100 of 150 words)