NYC Noir: Sweet Smell of Success

Sweet Smell of Success ****

Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Written by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman, based on the novel by Lehman

Starring:
Burt Lancaster as J.J. Hunsecker
Tony Curtis as Sidney Falco
Susan Harrison as Susan Hunsecker
Martin Milner as Steve Dallas
Sam Levene as Frank D' Angelo
Barbara Nichols as Rita
Jeff Donnell as Sally
Joe Frisco as Herbie Temple
Emile Meyer as Lt. Harry Kello
Edith Atwater as Mary
The Chico Hamilton Quintet as Themselves

96 Minutes(Not Rated)
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Starting on July 27th, my beloved Film Forum (the best theatre in New York City when it comes to revival programming, in my opinion), will be showing noir films that are set in New York City. The mini-festival runs until the end of August, showcasing up to 46 films before culminating in a weekend run of "The French Connection." Sadly I'll be away that week, and will miss the chance to see and review it. But in their place you will get to see special reviews for roughly twenty-six of the features, even though that is subject to change at any time. Kicking the festival off was a two day run of "Sweet Smell of Success," which was released first in 1957.

"Sweet Smell of Success" is a nearly perfect noir film, and a great opening for the festival. Having never seen it before, I was struck by how much New York City has changed, and the crisp dark seedy images of New York in its glory days offered much comparison to the state of it at the moment. Here we see man's ego being the centerpiece for the rich and impressionable, and we focus on Sidney Falco, a man who will suck up to just about anybody to get to the top. That anybody happens to be newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker, whose daily column in the paper is pretty much a danger zone if he writes somebody up in a negative light. At the moment he is a little ticked off at his sister, Susan, and her engagement to Steve Dallas, a member of The Chico Hamilton Quintet. But he is even more ticked off at Sidney because he ordered Sidney to break up their relationship quite some time ago. And so Sidney, to try not to get on J.J's bad side, ends up coming up with a little plan to ensure that the young lovers are son drifted apart, and he goes upon his quest to try and get the chance to stand alongside J.J, even if it means selling out numerous people along the way.

Several things come to mind during "Sweet Smell of Success" that strike the viewer right away. The first is the amazing cinematography-New York at its seediest. Everything and everyone covered in a strange dark shadow, with the background images-the lights, the glamour, the theatres, the nightclubs-all radiating this strong light. Next is the great acting-by both Tony Curtis and especially Burt Lancaster, who I have honestly never saw in a movie before. This festival is allowing me to see a couple. These two characters are some of the more egotistical men I've ever seen on film. J.J. with his greedy obsession with the power that he has, glaring down at everyone beneath that thickly framed glasses. Sidney, wanting to share that power with him-calling women "dames" and refusing to go out with a hat and coat because he doesn't want to have to tip to hat or coat check people. J.J. using Sidney because he knows that Sidney will do anything he asks, and Sidney not realizing that he is being used because he is so twisted with the hunger for power. Sidney never realizes that he is always being used as a puppet next to J.J., always thinking he is one step higher. Story aside, this is the focus of the film-their relationship, even though it is the most selfish one there is. Next is the music-Elmer Bernstein's honestly catchy score, and his main theme that several people were humming as we exited. And finally, the dialogue. The theatre was certainly abuzz with laughter at some of the lines:

"I'd hate to have a bite of you. You're a cookie fulla arsenic!"
"You're more twisted than a barrel of pretzels."
"You're dead, son. Get yourself buried. "
What am I, a bowl of fruit? A tangerine that peels in a minute?"

and that's just a tiny bit of it. . .

But this is classic film noir-a genre that I sadly know very little about and wish to know more. And thanks to Film Forum I'll be able to see several of the films: and on some days they offer double feature or even triple features, all for the one admission price of 10.50. That may seem like a lot, but then again this is New York, and what is the chance that you will see some of these films on the big screen for a while. But as for "Sweet Smell of Success," I was floored. I was intrigued in the story from the start, and it looked great. This film defines a whole era of cinema that I wish I knew more and more about. A whole era that I have only just cracked the surface, and with "NYC Noir" I will be only twenty-six films into that era-not even a dent, but a start.

For a complete listing of the films being played at Film Forum's NYC Noir, click HERE!