Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)

The Sweet Smell of Success was introduced to me by Martin Scorsese (not personally), the man who introduced me to the glorious world of Powell and Pressburger, and for that fact alone I am willing to trust any film that he throws my way. This is film Noir in the sense that it deals with the underbelly of society. It deals with the Press and Press Agents, and deception and manipulation. Tony Curtis plays a Press Agent who seems to be a bit down on his luck, and spends the entire film conning his way to get new clients, as well as rekindle old ones. Burt Lancaster is one of those clients, who is reluctant to give him business so long as he hasn't fulfilled his promise of splitting up his sister with a Jazz Guitarist who he has taken a dislike too. The problem is that the two have recently become engaged. So Between them, Curtis and Lancaster try and split them up in a devious and nasty way, spreading bad rumours and using force if need be.

This isn't a very nice story as you can probably tell. It's not a very nice film about people who aren't very nice, and whilst that may put some people off, it interested me just as much as it repulsed me. I like to consider myself as a nice person, so to see the depths that some people would sink to in order to get what they wanted is shocking and interesting. The characters don't really care how their actions affect other people, only how they will help them progress toward their goal.

This film is great though, the dialogue zips along, characters that you only meet for a moment or two are fully rounded people (all deeply troubled of course). Now at only 22, I have no first hand knowledge of the fifties, my parents were just children then so they too don't really know much, however, if it was like it is portrayed here, it wasn't a particularly nice time. On the surface you have glitz and glamour, you have the birth of celebrity culture, movie stars, men wearing suits all day long. But you don't have to look too deep to see that there are problems, that could be a reflection of the politics of the time, the repressed attitude of the 50s, people not expressing themselves and so on. I don't know. For all I know the fifties could have been completely different. But if they were like this, they would have been a thrilling, if slightly scary time. Much like the film. 

Oh and the cast are superb, I only really knew Tony Curtis from Some Like It Hot, and the difference here is magnificent. Highly recommended.