"Sweet Smell of Success" (1957)

Sweet Smell of Success exists in that realm of films where people talk fast and think faster. It's a noir wrapped up in a more conventional drama about newspaper insiders. Everyone is trying to out think, out talk and out succeed the next guy, and few people seem above getting themselves a little dirty to get ahead. Journalist Sidney Falco believes himself to be too smart and too crafty to be stuck playing second fiddle to his boss columnist J.J. Hunsecker -- he writes a sensational, gossipy entertainment column that Falco wants to take over. Falco is Sweet Smell of Success's best creation; he's amoral and nearly without scruples but he's utterly compelling and charming in the hands of Tony Curtis. Its a performance that's matched at every turn by Burt Lancaster's cold, commanding Hunsecker. He's a man who's always in control and sends out Falco to go out and fix his every problem by any means necessary. Falco is fed up but he plans to turn his current task into sure-fired career advancement. He's been assigned to undoing J.J.'s kid sister's relationship with a small time jazz musician. Falco plays all the angles, attempts to force people into compromising and unpleasant situations, and sweet talks (occasionally slimily talks) his way in and out of every corner. He's not always as on top of things as he thinks but he's smart and ambitious and not afraid to do just about anything get what he wants -- even when it might not sit well with him as it slowly eventually does. The most memorable part of the film is the dialogue from Alexander Mackendrick (who also directed), Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman's script; it's sharp, acidic and impeccably delivered by the cast.

Grade: A