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Sweet Smell of Success

  • 1957
  • Approved
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
34K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,447
2,011
Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, and Barbara Nichols in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Trailer for the classic drama Sweet Smell of Success, starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis.
Play trailer3:05
1 Video
93 Photos
DramaFilm-Noir

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.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.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.

  • Director
    • Alexander Mackendrick
  • Writers
    • Clifford Odets
    • Ernest Lehman
    • Alexander Mackendrick
  • Stars
    • Burt Lancaster
    • Tony Curtis
    • Susan Harrison
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    34K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,447
    2,011
    • Director
      • Alexander Mackendrick
    • Writers
      • Clifford Odets
      • Ernest Lehman
      • Alexander Mackendrick
    • Stars
      • Burt Lancaster
      • Tony Curtis
      • Susan Harrison
    • 183User reviews
    • 135Critic reviews
    • 100Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 3 wins & 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    Sweet Smell of Success
    Trailer 3:05
    Watch Sweet Smell of Success

    Photos93

    Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
    Tony Curtis and Jeff Donnell in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
    Susan Harrison, Sam Levene, and Martin Milner in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
    Burt Lancaster in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
    Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, and Susan Harrison in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
    Tony Curtis and Susan Harrison in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
    Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
    Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
    Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
    Tony Curtis and Barbara Nichols in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
    Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, and Susan Harrison in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
    Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Burt Lancaster
    Burt Lancaster
    • J.J. Hunsecker
    Tony Curtis
    Tony Curtis
    • Sidney Falco
    Susan Harrison
    Susan Harrison
    • Susan Hunsecker
    Martin Milner
    Martin Milner
    • Steve Dallas
    • (as Marty Milner)
    Jeff Donnell
    Jeff Donnell
    • Sally
    Sam Levene
    Sam Levene
    • Frank D' Angelo
    Joe Frisco
    Joe Frisco
    • Herbie Temple
    Barbara Nichols
    Barbara Nichols
    • Rita
    Emile Meyer
    Emile Meyer
    • Lt. Harry Kello
    Edith Atwater
    Edith Atwater
    • Mary
    The Chico Hamilton Quintet
    The Chico Hamilton Quintet
    • The Chico Hamilton Quintet
    Jay Adler
    Jay Adler
    • Manny Davis
    • (uncredited)
    Mary Bayless
    • Bar Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Nicky Blair
    Nicky Blair
    • Patron at Toots Shor's
    • (uncredited)
    Nick Borgani
    • Waiter
    • (uncredited)
    Ralph Brooks
    • Patron at 21
    • (uncredited)
    Brad Brown
    • Patron at 21
    • (uncredited)
    Steve Carruthers
    Steve Carruthers
    • Patron at 21
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alexander Mackendrick
    • Writers
      • Clifford Odets
      • Ernest Lehman
      • Alexander Mackendrick(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Publicity materials for the film noted cinematographer James Wong Howe spread a film of Vaseline on Lancaster's glasses to create a shine and make his stare more menacing.
    • Goofs
      Right at the start of the movie (2:34) when Sidney peruses J.J. Hunsecker's 'The Eyes of Broadway' column on page 21 of the New York Globe newspaper, it can clearly be seen that several of the paragraphs are repeated. Of the nine paragraphs visible, it can be seen that paragraph 7 is an exact copy of paragraph 2; 8 is a copy of 5, and 9 is a copy of 4.
    • Quotes

      Sidney Falco: The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river.

    • Crazy credits
      introducing Susan Harrison
    • Connections
      Featured in Mackendrick: The Man Who Walked Away (1986)

    User reviews183

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    "You want information, ask for it like a man, instead of scratching for it like a dog."
    The fact that in 1957 this film was made at all is proof that Walter Winchell's decline was already setting in. Burt Lancaster's J.J. Hunsecker based on Winchell and very frightening accurately portrays the columnist and the power he wielded.

    For those who are interested in how Winchell got to where he was J.J. Hunsecker I would recommend Neal Gabler's biography of him which came out a few years ago. Sweet Smell of Success is the story of a day in the life of this monster who everyone on the planet it seems is terrified of offending. Like Winchell at the Stork Club, Hunsecker holds court like some monarch at a nightclub where people are obsequiously asking for some recognition in his column.

    One of these is Sidney Falco, press agent and bootlicking dog extraordinaire. Hunsecker is mad at him because he sent him on an errand to break up a romance his younger sister is having with a jazz musician he doesn't approve of. The film is essentially Falco's attempts to carry out his master's wishes.

    Burt Lancaster had already received critical acclaim as an actor, but this was a breakthrough role for Tony Curtis as Sidney Falco. Up to then Curtis was the handsome romantic lead in many lightweight films for his home studio of Universal. Sidney Falco was a lot of things, but heroic wasn't one of them. Next year Tony Curtis would get an Oscar nomination for The Defiant Ones. How Lancaster and Curtis were ignored by the Academy for nominations is beyond me.

    The young lovers are Susan Harrison and Martin Milner. This was probably Marty Milner's finest screen role. As Lancaster was also the producer he personally cast Milner in the part having worked with him on Gunfight at the OK Corral. Susan Harrison strangely enough never had much of a career after a promising debut. She ultimately wreaks a terrible vengeance on one of our protagonists.

    One of the ironic lines in the film is Lancaster saying that he'd fold up if he had to exist on a press agent's tidbits. But ironically that's how Winchell/Hunsecker did exist. Winchell had no real skill as a reporter as Gabler's biography pointed out. When the tidbits stopped, he dried up and blew away.

    Sweet Smell of Success was a commercial flop, movie audiences did not take to the offbeat casting of the leads nor to the gritty realistic story. Today the film is a deserved classic.
    helpful•93
    11
    • bkoganbing
    • Oct 20, 2005

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 4, 1957 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Dein Schicksal in meiner Hand
    • Filming locations
      • Brill Building - 1619 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Norma Productions
      • Curtleigh Productions
      • Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $3,400,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,704
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 36 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1(original ratio)

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