What a sparklingly brilliant and horrible noirish movie this is. Even beneath the opening credits the film is bursting forth with crowds bustling, newspaper lorries gushing forth and neon reflecting onto the dark and wet pavements. The fast pace is maintained throughout and there is a slight problem at first in ascertaining what is going on because we find it so hard to accept that Tony Curtis is playing a bad man. Hardly any good men in this, though, as we see how the popular newspaper gossip writers go about their business and the pleasure they take with their snide insinuations and malicious digs. Curtis is fantastic playing against type and this is probably his finest work, Lancaster is similarly playing it more darkly and is so scary, with minimal movement and a steely glare. Much has been said about the seeming weakness of the young lovers and maybe Lancaster's sister could have been more of a wild child and her jazz friend more of a hip cat. But it is a minor moan when the picture before you glows and glistens in glorious b/w before exploding in the midst of its manipulative nastiness.

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS is a great crime drama about the "beasts" that control and destroy people's lives.The main protagonist is a famous and unscrupulous journalist who controls and destroys the lives of celebrities. A young press agent helps him. First character is powerful, and the other is hungry for success. The theme, from the standpoint of high society, is universal. A good gossip is worth gold. The story is realistic and interesting. However, pulsating dialogues, noir atmosphere complemented by excellent soundtrack, photography and characterization make this movie great.This film can be viewed as a kind of quest for power, success, fame and easy money. I would like to emphasize the importance of the relationship between the protagonists, which are reduced to two options - accept or die. The world, filled with intrigues and conspiracies is perfect for a rough games. Tony Curtis as Sidney Falco is slimy character, who is willing to go to any extreme to achieve his goal. However, the goal is constantly getting out of his hands. His character is not completely negative. The first noticeable emotion is his biggest weakness. I think that Tony Curtis, despite his reputation, did a great job. Burt Lancaster as J. J. Hunsecker is a dominant character. The columnist, who suffers from excessive possessiveness and pathological love for his younger sister. He is elegant and restrained. However, his character is revealed through violent emotions.Both characters are two-faced in different ways. Their relationship best describes the mutual dependence and a thin line between love and hate.Susan Harrison as Susan Hunsecker is distraught, dejected and helpless character. She fought, at the same time, for her love, and healing in an unhealthy world. Martin Milner as Steve Dallas is a talented musician and honest young man. A harmless romantic, who becomes the victim of sick minds. Love will find a way at any cost. This sounds a bit cynical, but it is real in this film.Finally, a big fish mainly eat small fish, but one small fish, meanwhile, has become too much.

The drama in this film is severe. The crisp silhouettes, and the heavy lighting from the neck up makes for sharp, glossy shots. the style of the picture is certainly something to appreciate as well. the witty, intellectual dialogue, the jazzy night clubs and all the sleazy characters makes "the scene" of the 1950s devilishly glamorous. "sweet smell of success" is directed by Alexander Mackendrick and stars Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. although if caution is not taken following the film closely it seems to be quite easy to miss something very important especially since our protagonist are constantly plotting and scheming against each other through out the film. Burt Lancaster as j.j is a deviant, malicious Broadway columnist is quite unsettling. smart and powerful j.j is disturbingly sneaking and a master at scheming. this film can make for a great psychological suspense.

This movie, to me, was all about language. Every character had something to say. They had a joke, a catch phrase, a little bit of information, etc. This well very well written for a movie produced by a Hollywood actor. Tony Curtis plays a very good character to easily hate. I enjoy characters that are easy to hate, and Tony Curtis plays the perfect weasel thats a bitch for someone more powerful than him. And there was the beautiful female, who was the fulcrum to the whole movie. She was the main headline for eighty percent of the characters that had an impact in the film. I would love to watch this movie with a bunch of Italian taxi drivers for some reason