Sweet Smell of Success is a shining example of cinematic brilliance, with filmmaking of the highest caliber. The fact that Alexander Mackendrick, a British filmmaker best known for his light British comedies (most notably Whisky Galore (1949) and The Ladykillers (1955)), directs one of the best noir films of all time despite his lack of experience in the genre, speaks volumes of his talent.
J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) is an influential New York Broadway columnist who leads The New York Globe and has the power to make or break people’s careers. Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) is a press agent whose career depends on getting his clients coverage, primarily in Hunsecker’s columns. However, Sidney’s livelihood is in jeopardy as Hunsecker has suddenly frozen Sidney out of his columns. The main reason is Sidney’s inability to break the relationship between Hunsecker’s sister Susie (Susan Harrison) and Steve (Martin Milner), a jazz musician. It is now up to Sidney to employ any means necessary to end the romantic involvement between the two and get into the good books of Hunsecker.
Hunsecker’s opening scene is a masterclass in character development and screenwriting. It begins with Sidney joining Hunsecker in a restaurant, where he is seated with a senator and a press agent named Manny Davis (Jay Adler), who has brought a good-looking blonde with him. Hunsecker chastises and towers over everyone around him, referring to Sidney as “a man with 40 faces” and advising the senator to avoid hanging out with Manny to maintain a respectable public persona. He doesn’t let people finish their sentences and constantly talks over them. Even the senator is intimidated by him, asking, “Why does everything you say sound like a threat?” It is a great introductory scene that highlights his powerful and domineering personality. In the next scene, Hunsecker warns Sidney with the phrase, “I’ll blitz you,” if he doesn’t stop finagling around and put an end to Susie’s relationship immediately. Following that, what Sidney does to conjure the breakup is one of the best bits in the film because it depicts a man descending into moral decay at a level you have never seen before. He acts like a mule following a carrot dangled in front of him, with no shame or respect for himself.
The film’s leads are not likable characters by any stretch of the imagination. J.J. Hunsecker is a prototypical example of how unlimited power and money can turn a man into a tyrant with a God complex. He is a sadistic control freak who enjoys having everyone whistle to his tune and insists on having his way with everything. He doesn’t like it when his sister is in a relationship with someone because he wants her all to himself, implying an incestuous angle. And to have his way, he tries everything to break up his sister’s romance without considering what she wants. On the other hand, Sidney is an ethically bankrupt hustler willing to go to any length to make a quick buck. He isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and play in the big game with big players because, as he puts it, “the best of everything is good enough for me.” Given that Sidney’s point of view dominates the narrative, I can honestly say that I have never wished for a movie’s protagonist to fail in his pursuits more than I did in this case.
The characters in the film coexist perfectly in the world constructed skillfully by Mackendrick and cinematographer James Wang Howe, which is grim, harsh, and cynical, with no hope for decency or love to survive. The film also benefits from razor-sharp dialogue that cuts like a dagger; every phrase is memorable and adds depth to the characters. There are a lot of great insults thrown around in this movie, such as when Hunsecker says to Sidney, “I’d hate to take a bite outta you. You are a cookie full of arsenic.” Or Steve saying to Sidney, “The next time you want information, don’t scratch for it like a dog; ask for it like a man!”
Despite not following the standard noir formula of a private eye investigating a crime and becoming embroiled with gangsters, cops, and femme fatales, the film’s dark and pessimistic outlook, James Wang Howe’s shadowy cinematography, the anti-hero protagonist, and tight dialogues make Sweet Smell of Success not only one of the best noir films but also one of the best films ever made.
Sweet Smell of Success movie link: IMDB
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