Sweet Smell of Success

Ernest Lehman drew upon his experiences as a Broadway press agent to write the devastating a clef short story "Tell Me About Tomorrow." This in turn was adapted by Lehman and Clifford Odets into the sharp-edged, penetrating feature film Sweet Smell of Success. Burt Lancaster stars as J. J. ...more

A late New York City noir skillfully helmed by a director renowned for his British comedies, Sweet Smell of Success is a tasty cinematic cookie full of arsenic. With James Wong Howe's peerlessly sleek location monochrome photography setting the nocturnal mood of New York's lost theaters and nightclubs, Alexander Mackendrick guides his stars to career performances as the dregs of celebrity culture. Eschewing his trademark box-office grin, producer/star Burt Lancaster cunningly plays dirty as ...more