Sorry, this movie sucks

Awesome Movie

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Alexander Mackendrick's "Sweet Smell of Success" is a movie about journalists that is unlike anything that I've ever seen before and when it comes to the journalism industry it is even more shocking than Sidney Lumet's "Network" (1976) which was released 19 years after this movie came out in 1957. Burt Lancaster stars as JJ Hunsecker a very powerful columnist for the New York Globe and who has lots of readers to his name, asks a young press agent named Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) to break up the relationship between Hunsecker's little sister Susie (Susan Harrison) and a jazz musician named Steve Dallas (Martin Milner) while Falco tries to go even further as to framing him as a dope smoker. The film isn't a typical film noir with a private eye investigating a murder though it does have the ingredients of one. This is a movie that is truly flawless thanks to the extremely intense screenplay written by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman, the glorious black and white cinematography by James Wong Howe, Mackendrick's direction, and all of the performances especially from Lancaster and Curtis stand out from all the rest and each of them give some of the best work of their respective careers and are truly Oscar level work that was snubbed that year. In his review of this movie Roger Ebert wrote that the relationship between the Lancaster and Curtis characters was like "two junkyard dogs". of which there is no better way for me to describe it. Burt Lancaster is one of my all time favorite macho men in the movies along with John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, James Stewart, Clark Gable, Liam Neeson, Harrison Ford and many others. This film is also one of the best noirs that I've ever seen and not only is it a masterpiece, it is also one of the ten best films of 1957.

Sour-Full Display of the most Cynical with its Cyanide Script and Loathsome Characters. Visually Striking New York City Showbiz Nightlife with Predators Aplenty.Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis Spar Endlessly using Their Wits as Weapons taking Bites out of each other and Wounding Weaker People then Occasionally going in for the Kill. The Film is Populated with assorted Associates, Hangers On, Desperate Types and the Corrosive Colliding like so many Pin-Balls in the Confined Environment of the Big Apple.Visceral War of Words in the Concrete Jungle as these "Animals" Instinctively Forego Empathy and replace it with Brutality. It can be a Tough Watch because it is Relentlessly Hurtful and the Slaughter is Shown Up Close and in High Contrast.The Pace is Hustle and the Mood is Manic. Fascinating, Captivating, and Claustrophobic, it Ranks with the Likes of "Sunset Blvd" (1950) as the Decades most Scintillating and Scathing Films to come from the Safe and Saccharin 1950's.Film-Noir as a Substantive, Subversive Style was in Decline by this Late Date, but the Makers of this Movie didn't Read the Press Release as it Remains a Solid Entry in the Genre.

Before watching this movie, I read a brief summary just to see what I was getting into. After reading the summary I sat down to watch the movie feeling like I would not like it and that it would just be a waste of almost two hours and I'm proud to say that I was surprised... to say the least. The film was very interesting because it shines a light on a dying industry. The cinematography in this movie was fantastic, techniques such as blur were used to truly draw the audience's attention to the subject and that make the movie much more interesting and easy to understand. The sound in both the background and the way the actors and actresses voices were heard were certainly an asset to the film.

The drama in this film is severe. The crisp silhouettes, and the heavy lighting from the neck up makes for sharp, glossy shots. the style of the picture is certainly something to appreciate as well. the witty, intellectual dialogue, the jazzy night clubs and all the sleazy characters makes "the scene" of the 1950s devilishly glamorous. "sweet smell of success" is directed by Alexander Mackendrick and stars Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. although if caution is not taken following the film closely it seems to be quite easy to miss something very important especially since our protagonist are constantly plotting and scheming against each other through out the film. Burt Lancaster as j.j is a deviant, malicious Broadway columnist is quite unsettling. smart and powerful j.j is disturbingly sneaking and a master at scheming. this film can make for a great psychological suspense.