Sweet Smell of Success by Alexander Mackendrick

This is one of those movies you would mention whenever discussing perfect onscreen duos. J. J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) and Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) are at opposite ends of the food chain: Hunsecker is a larger-than-life columnist who dictates New York’s highlife with the power of his name and writings; Sidney on the other hand is a bottom feeder, a press agent desperate to get his clients in those very same column inches. When J. J. orders Sidney to get rid of a jazz singer who is having a fling with his sister, Sidney initially fails, attracting J. J.’s wrath.

As the plot moves along, it proves to be as complex as is required (not very much) to facilitate the development of the edgy relationship between the two. Hunsecker is the ruler of the club district in Manhattan; yet he is also distances himself from others, his cynical labelling of people serving as a good excuse for treating them like flies. Sydney lurks around J.J.’s chic raincoat, hoping for some leftovers, worshipping the tyrant.

Outside of this duo, the characters are flimsy. People run around in the iconic noir snow, hordes of one-line reporters, divas and waiters try to please J.J. His sister and the musician are transparent and naïve, chit-chatting about their impossible love, being more interested in the impossible part. But this is an acceptable minor flaw, as Lancaster and Curtis deliver canonic performances from Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman’s tortuous screenplay.

Mark Racz