Sweet Smell of Success - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sweet Smell of Success is a 1957 American film noir

Film noir

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...

made by Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions and released by United Artists

United Artists

United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....

. It was directed by Alexander Mackendrick

Alexander Mackendrick

Alexander Mackendrick was a Scottish American director and teacher. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and later moved to Scotland...

and stars Burt Lancaster

Burt Lancaster

Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...

, Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...

, Susan Harrison

Susan Harrison

Susan Harrison is an American actress. She is most famous for her appearance in the 1957 film noir classic Sweet Smell of Success as the sister for whom Burt Lancaster has an unhealthy affection as well as in The Twilight Zone episode "Five Characters in Search of an Exit."She is a graduate of the...

and Martin Milner

Martin Milner

Martin Sam Milner is an American actor best known for his performances in two popular television series, Adam-12 and Route 66....

. The screenplay

Screenplay

A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...

was written by Clifford Odets

Clifford Odets

Clifford Odets was an American playwright, screenwriter, socialist, and social protester.-Early life:Odets was born in Philadelphia to Romanian- and Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Louis Odets and Esther Geisinger, and raised in Philadelphia and the Bronx, New York. He dropped out of high...

, Ernest Lehman

Ernest Lehman

Ernest Lehman was an American screenwriter. He received 6 Academy Award nominations during his screenwriting career...

and Mackendrick from the novelette by Lehman. Mary Grant designed the film's costumes.

The film tells the story of a powerful newspaper columnist (clearly based on Walter Winchell

Walter Winchell

Walter Winchell was an American newspaper and radio gossip commentator.-Professional career:Born Walter Weinschel in New York City, he left school in the sixth grade and started performing in a vaudeville troupe known as Gus Edwards' "Newsboys Sextet."His career in journalism was begun by posting...

) who uses his connections to ruin his sister's relationship with a man he deems inappropriate.

Despite a poorly received preview screening, Sweet Smell of Success has greatly improved in stature over the years.