Sweet Smell of Success Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Sweet Smell of Success
Director: Alexander Mackendrick
Year: 1957
Country: U.S
Language: English

"I'd hate to take a bite outta you. You're a cookie full of arsenic" says the great Burt Lancaster as J.J Hunsecker, a villainous man who arguably has a more powerful and frightening on-screen presence than any villain in film history. Sweet Smell of Success is a brilliant film about the dark gritty underbelly of both the media and New York City. It is an astounding study on the nature of success and how far man will go to be successful. It is one of my favourite releases from the Criterion Collection, one that I find myself constantly revisiting.

The film is about  a beast named J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) , the most powerful newspaper columnist in New York, who is determined to prevent his sister from marrying Steve Dallas (Martan Milner) , a jazz musician. He therefore covertly employs Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis), a sleazy and unscrupulous press agent, to break up the affair by any means possible.

The first two minutes of the film says a lot about how well made it is. We are introduced with an incredible jazzy score which brings up 50's New York nostalgia, as well as a beautiful  background that shows the busy, vibrant and exuberant New York City. It is a bustling, hustling city where men will trade in their souls to be at the top. "From now on the best of everything is good enough for me!" exclaims the spineless Sidney Falco. He reminds me of Harry Fabian (Richard Windmark) from another noir, Jules Dassin's Night and the City. Both men appear to have no morals, both manipulate people into getting what they want and both have an extreme desire to be the best.

Sweet Smell of Success realistically explores the nature of success. How far will a person go to get to the top? In reality, there seems to be no limit. We hope that people have a conscience, but many don't. Hitler was a man who desired to stay at the top, and was willing to exterminate entire nations of people to do so. This is J.J Hunsecker's personality and it's the reason he is so frightening. Men like him exist and abuse their power to destroy lives. Sadly, men  like Sidney Falco who take great abuse and compromise their integrity in hopes to be promoted . Fortunately the film ends with a glimmer of hope, there are some men that have limits to their villainy.

In conclusion, there doesn't seem to be any weak points to this film. The dialogue can be witty, but is usually as sharp as knife. "The cat's in a bag and the bag's in a river." The acting is remarkable and the lighting only adds to the feeling of corruption that is present throughout the film. With this, Mackendrick created the best film noir the United States has ever produced. Praise it! 5/5