DIRECTED BY

Alexander Mackendrick

STARRING

Burt Lancaster

Tony Curtis

Susan Harrison

Martin Milner

Warning: Spoiler in Second Paragraph
It�s a nice surprise to see a film about abuse of power that doesn�t really deal at all with money. �The Sweet Smell of Success� turns out to be an examination of the destructive value of love. Lancaster plays J.J., the megalomaniacal newspaper columnist who - with the help of his shrewd press agent - uses his power to frame a guy who he sees unfit to marry his sister. What follows is a lot of melodrama � some of it works, some of it seems too artificial � particularly the dialogue. Forgive me, but I just can�t buy how eloquently just about every single character in this film manages to fire off these sentences that are fraught with confounding maxims and aphorisms.

The film begins as more of a frustrating experience than an enjoyable one, but once the storyline snaps into place it�s an entertaining watch. Even though the gritty and poorly lit cinematography doesn�t look that great today, the milieu in which the film is set is compelling � an early scene with Lancaster looking out from a terrace into the old school New York City is simply awesome. Some of the plot�s details could�ve been better defined, such as how J.J. has so much pull with the authorities (he�s still just a columnist.) But the ultimate message is a powerful one � when all is said and done, J.J. is still prosperous, successful, and filthy rich, but he�s managed to lose his sister and his most loyal friend. So what does he really have now?

- Grant Patten