328. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Directed by Alexander Mackendrick

Synopsis

A columnist tries to stop his sister's love affair with a jazz player, using the dirtiest possible means.

Review

Alexander Mackendrick had previously been in this list with two Ealing Comedies, Whisky Galore! and The Ladykillers, now Ealing Studios was sold to the BBC and he moved to the States where he was given the job of directing this film and what a great job he did!


The film is amazing not only because of the very good directing by Mackendrick, in fact the greatest highlights are the acting by Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster and the taut, amazing dialogue that they engage in.

All the characters in the film are positively repulsive, with the exception of the very secondary loving couple. The film's view of the media and the corrupted relationships it engages in is positively bleak. The machinations of the main characters make them some of the most vile "heroes" of any film on this list yet, and it works incredibly well.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

A preview screening of the film did not go well as Tony Curtis fans were expecting him to play one of his typical nice guy roles and instead were presented with Sidney Falco. Mackendrick remembers seeing audience members "curling up, crossing their arms and legs, recoiling from the screen in disgust". Burt Lancaster's fans were not thrilled with their idol either, "finding the film too static and talky". The film was a box office failure and Hecht blamed his producing partner Hill. "The night of the preview, Harold said to me, 'You know you've wrecked our company? We're going to lose over a million dollars on this picture,'" Hill recalled.[1] However, Lancaster blamed Lehman who remembers a confrontation they had: "Burt threatened me at a party after the preview. He said, 'You didn't have to leave – you could have made this a much better picture. I ought to beat you up.' I said, 'Go ahead – I could use the money.'"

Film is online, part 1: