This is a guest post from Anna, author of the movie blog Defiant Success. She decided to contribute a little something for this week’s Classic Corner.

I’ve gained somewhat of a notoriety online for saying how much I love this movie. But what do I like about it? What do I like about a movie that was virtually ignored upon its release over fifty years ago, but is now considered one of the greatest noirs ever made?

Sweet Smell of Success focuses on two people: newspaper columnist J.J. Hunsecker and press agent hack Sidney Falco. J.J. has employed Sidney to break up the relationship between his sister Susan and jazz musician Steve Dallas. If Sidney does his dirty work, he gets a hefty reward: a spot in J.J.’s column.

This dark tale of 1950′s New York City and journalism was and still is considered a breakthrough project for director Alexander Mackendrick and stars Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster. All three were trying to break new ground in their careers; Mackendrick didn’t want to be confined to making comedies (his earlier work included The Ladykillers and The Man In The White Suit), Curtis and Lancaster wanted to show they were more than just movie stars.

By the time Curtis made Sweet Smell of Success, he had just about exhausted (and gotten sick of) his typecast as the swashbuckler with the Bronx accent. He wanted to do a part where he could prove he was more than just a pretty face. Here, he is the epitome of sleaze that is Sidney Falco. Sidney views certain people as either a help or a disadvantage to him and his goal in life is to be the best of the best (and those are his good points). One character sums up his personality perfectly after falling victim to one of his ploys: “You’re a snake, Falco. A real louse.” But behind the deceitful smirk, Sidney tries to proves that he’s decent. He knows that what he was ordered to do by J.J. isn’t worth it, but that spot in the column is just too irresistible to pass up.

Lancaster, unlike Curtis, had already made a name for himself as an actor. An Oscar nominee for his work in From Here to Eternity, he wanted to show Hollywood he could do more than just act. As well as serving as one of the producers for Sweet Smell of Success, he is the coldest villain you’ll ever encounter in a noir: J.J. Hunsecker. He has the ability to make or break one’s career just by the words in his column. Some have tried to stand up to him, but when they realize what they say can be used against them, they back off. It seems throughout the movie that from his shady dealings J.J. has blood on his hands. No, the dark liquid that stains his palms is nothing more than the ink that’s responsible for writing his column.

Even though Curtis and Lancaster give the performances of their careers, audiences were shocked to see their idols as deplorable characters, a factor which contributed to the movie’s financial failure. Both ventured into completely different parts afterwards, but auras of Sidney and J.J. could be seen in some of their later roles.

Susan Harrison and Martin Milner are hapless lovers Susan Hunsecker and Steve Dallas. Both were relative newcomers to the Hollywood scene. Though both are what make the movie go forward, ironically they also slow down the movie. We become so focused on Sidney and J.J. it makes it hard for the movie to temporarily shift its focus onto other characters.

Elmer Bernstein’s score and James Wong Howe’s cinematography make New York City seem glamorous, but under that facade is glitzed-up filth. Never before has the Big Apple so rotten. It’s by far the bleakest view of the city celluloid has captured.

Take note of certain scenes with J.J. and the trickery Howe uses. Howe makes J.J. appear larger in stature on camera to show the power he so often abuses. Howe also uses certain lighting to darken J.J.’s face to emphasize his sinister nature.

Of course, the highlight of Sweet Smell of Success is the script written by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman. Each line uttered by Sidney or J.J. drips with the acidity of sharp wit that Odets and Lehman had intended. It’s honestly the best dialogue outside of a Billy Wilder movie. There’s a reason for why a character in Diner only speaks lines from Sweet Smell of Success, but there isn’t any reason for why AMPAS decided not to nominate the script for an Oscar.

To sum up everything, Sweet Smell of Success, despite a few minor flaws here and there, is an excellent movie you shouldn’t avoid.

A

Notes: 96 minutes

Read more of my reviews and other film related ramblings at http://movienut14.blogspot.com/ and follow me on twitter @movienut14