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showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsSweet Smell of Success (1957) More at IMDbPro »
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Clifford Odets (screenplay) and
Ernest Lehman (screenplay) ...
more
Release Date:
27 June 1957 (USA) more
Tagline:
They know him - and they shiver - the big names of Broadway, Hollywood and Capitol Hill. They know J.J.- the world-famed columnist whose gossip is gospel to sixty million readers! They know the venom that flickers in those eyes behind the glasses - and they fawn - like Sid Falco, the kid who wanted "in" so much, he'd sell out his own girl to stand up there with J.J., sucking in the sweet smell of success! This is J.J.'s story - but not the way he would have liked it told! more
Plot:
Powerful but unethical Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker coerces unscrupulous press agent Sidney Falco into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: An overwhelming study of life and illusion
(From t5m.com. 21 August 2009, 8:26 AM, PDT)
Famed Screenwriter Lehman Dead at 89
(From Studio Briefing - Film News. 6 July 2005)
User Comments:
Gripping and powerful, amazing cast and dialog more (81 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Burt Lancaster | ... | J.J. Hunsecker | |
| Tony Curtis | ... | Sidney Falco | |
| Susan Harrison | ... | Susan Hunsecker | |
| Martin Milner | ... | Steve Dallas (as Marty Milner) | |
| Jeff Donnell | ... | Sally | |
| Sam Levene | ... | Frank D' Angelo | |
| Joe Frisco | ... | Herbie Temple | |
| Barbara Nichols | ... | Rita | |
| Emile Meyer | ... | Lt. Harry Kello | |
| Edith Atwater | ... | Mary | |
| The Chico Hamilton Quintet | ... | Themselves |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
96 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
USA:TV-PG | West Germany:16 (f) | UK:A (original rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #18585)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In the opening shots of Manhattan, the movie The Mountain (1956) starring Robert Wagner and Spencer Tracy, is shown playing at a movie house. The Mountain came out one year before Sweet Smell of Success. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Susan's coat when she's saying goodbye to Steve in the coffee shop towards the end of the movie. In one shot it's around only one of her shoulders, in the previous and next shots it's around both. more
Quotes:
Jimmy Weldon: It's a dirty job, but I pay clean money for it. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The Rules of Film Noir (2009) (TV) more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (81 total)
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Sweet Smell of Success (1957) moreRecommendations
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This film really brings an air of nostalgia when you compare it to current productions. There are no special effects or noisy music, but nevertheless you are riveted to your chair form beginning to end thanks to a wonderful cast, dialogue, direction and very nice Jazz music. Burt Lancaster gives again an unbelievable performance and Tony Curtis is perfect in the role of the ambitious small time thug that cannot get rid of his own contradictions. I only wish the studios would stop focusing on the teen market today and get inspired by films like this one.