Critic Reviews

Sweet Smell of Success (1957) Rank 4 Reviews

Expert Review Summary
Movie critics combined give Sweet Smell of Success (1957) a score of 3.7955 out of 4
based on (33) reviews
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Reviews by Score:
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The two men in "The Sweet Smell of Success" relate to each other like junkyard dogs. One is dominant, and the other is a whipped cur, circling hungrily, his tail between his legs, hoping for a scrap after the big dog has dined. The dynamic between a ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for New York Times (A.O. Scott)New York Times (A.O. Scott)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar)Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar)
A lean, mean amorality tale that still goes down like a cookie laced with arsenic. ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)
Captures the sleazy allure of Manhattan like no other film. ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Three Movie Buffs (Patrick Nash)Three Movie Buffs (Patrick Nash)
Filled with beautiful black and white cinematography of New York City at night during the 1950's, particularly the neon blaze of Time's Square, Sweet Smell of Success is groundbreaking in its depiction of completely ruthless characters who will do ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Three Movie Buffs (Patrick Nash)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Empire Magazine (--)Empire Magazine (--)
Drag a lung-full of Alexander Mackendrick's 1957 hymn to Manhattan sleaze and you can almost taste the city. As J.J. Hunsecker, gossip columnist and proto-shock jock remarks: "I love this dirty town". The irony is that Mackendrick, the Scottish director ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Empire Magazine (--)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Movie Reviews UK (--)Movie Reviews UK (--)
A sour but compelling study of naked greed on the streets of Manhattan, Sweet Smell of Success excels in its script, photography and performances. On the so-late-it's-early streets of the city, press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) grabs a copy of the ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Movie Reviews UK (--)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Lawrence Russell's Film Court (Lawrence Russell)Lawrence Russell's Film Court (Lawrence Russell)
When he tracks down Hunsecker (Lancaster) holding court in the 21 Club, he bears bad news from The Elysian Room, the club owned by his Uncle Frank. But first he has to gain an audience, so he phones Hunsecker's table from the lobby. But Hunsecker is ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Lawrence Russell's Film Court (Lawrence Russell)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Time Out (--)Time Out (--)
A film noir from the Ealing funny man? But Mackendrick's involvement with cosy British humour was always less innocent than it looked: remember the anti-social wit of The Man in the White Suit, or the cruel cynicism of The Ladykillers? Sweet Smell of ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Time Out (--)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Sydney Morning Herald (--)Sydney Morning Herald (--)
One of the most celebrated moments in Sweet Smell of Success (1957) has Burt Lancaster standing on a Manhattan footpath while blissfully inhaling the petrol fumes. Throwing back his head, he declares: "I love this dirty town." It's as if he's been taking ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Sydney Morning Herald (--)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for DVDBeaver.com (Ole Kofoed)DVDBeaver.com (Ole Kofoed)
Mackendrick's deliciously dark take on the malicious underbelly of Broadway PR, and the grubby columns which fuel the human need for gossip, remains one of the sharpest and corrosively perceptive films to emerge from Hollywood. The film revolves ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at DVDBeaver.com (Ole Kofoed)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
In this, one of the most cynical of Hollywood films, Tony Curtis plays Sidney Falco, the scum of the earth, "a man of 40 faces, not one, none too pretty, and all deceptive": he's a press agent. His job is to convince gossip columnists to run a precious ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for The Lumière ReaderThe Lumière Reader
"THE CHARACTERS of Alexander Mackendrick's 1957 Manhattan melodrama look as if they'd melt if exposed to sunlight," remarks Dave Kehr. What's most interesting is the way the film appropriates the mechanics of noir without a single crime taking place. ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at The Lumière Reader
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Guardian/ObserverGuardian/Observer
Burt Lancaster stars as a ruthless newspaper columnist who hires smarmy press agent, Tony Curtis, to destroy his kid sister's relationship with a musician. ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Guardian/Observer
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for filmcritic.com Smells Successfilmcritic.com Smells Success
Astonishingly good look at a thinly-veiled Walter Winchell, the New York gossip columnist who reigned with terror as one of the most influential writers of his time. Lancaster burns up the screen as J.J. Hunsecker, who enlists Curtis's Sidney Falco to ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at filmcritic.com Smells Success
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)
"Sweet Smell of Success" was a commercial and critical failure when first released. It wasn't nominated for any Academy Awards. It nearly ruined the career of director Alexander MacKendrick. But over time, the film has acquired a reputation. With its ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Greatest Films - comprehensive analysis of classic US filmsGreatest Films - comprehensive analysis of classic US films
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) is an ascerbic, dynamic and intense film that exposes the diseased under-side of New York City's glamorous night life, revealing brutality, capriciousness, greed, evil, psychological violence, corrupt American ambition, ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Greatest Films - comprehensive analysis of classic US films
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for MovieMartyr.comMovieMartyr.com
Sweet Smell of Success, one of the best and last true film noir works, is one of the greatest of all films. ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at MovieMartyr.com
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Crazy for CinemaCrazy for Cinema
Never in my life have I watched a film that centered on two more reprehensible characters than those played by Lancaster and Curtis. They star as New York press men, J.J. Hunsecker and Sidney Falco. The former is the most feared gossip columnist in the ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Crazy for Cinema
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 3.72 out of 4 stars for Doug Pratt's Laserdisc ReviewDoug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
Although a print would have to wear down severely to spoil James Wong Howe's shiny, street-wet black-and-white cinematography, the source material looks almost new, with only a scattering of scratches to reveal its true age. There are also some great ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 3.53 out of 4 stars for Images Movie JournalImages Movie Journal
Told through the medium of the dark career of one "Sidney Falco" (Tony Curtis), a slimy publicity man who's an expert in what another character in the film calls, "the theology of making a fast buck," Sweet Smell of Success documents the last years of ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Images Movie Journal
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 3.51 out of 4 stars for eFilmCritic ReviewseFilmCritic Reviews
Burt Lancaster plays J.J. Hunsecker, a powerful man whose words reach an audience of 60 million people. He is rich and famous, but he is not happy. His sister is in love with a jazz musician, and he is unwilling to lose her to anyone. So, he calls on ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at eFilmCritic Reviews
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Ealing's Scottish director Alexander MacKendrick ("Man in the White Suit-1951"/"The Ladykillers-1955"), noted for his comedy films, makes his first American film a lyrical acerbic film noir that is primarily a bitter character study of two despicable men ...read the complete Sweet Smell of Success movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
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Ratings and rankings are based on number of movie, review scores, awards & other criteria.
Overall Rating:
3.8338
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) is ranked overall as  out of 4 stars
Avg Critic Score:
3.7955
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) is ranked overall as  out of 4 stars
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