Sweet Smell of Success

Sweet Smell of Success is a 1957 film which tells the story of a powerful newspaper columnist who uses his connections to ruin his sister's relationship with a man he deems inappropriate. It stars Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, and Susan Harrison.

J.J. Hunsecker

• Holding an unlit cigarette

Match me, Sidney.

• Put on the mask and dance for daddy!

• You're dead, son. Get yourself buried.

• Everybody knows Manny Davis - except Mrs. Manny Davis.

• President? My big toe would make a better President!

• My right hand hasn't seen my left hand in thirty years.

• I love this dirty town.

• Son, I don't relish shooting a mosquito with an elephant gun, so why don't you just shuffle along?

• I'd hate to take a bite outta you. You're a cookie full of arsenic.

• Well son, it looks like we have to call this game on account of darkness.

• Don't remove the gangplank, Sidney - you may wanna get back onboard.

Sidney Falco

• Watch me run a 50-yard dash with my legs cut off!

• Maybe I left my sense of humor in my other suit.

• The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river.

Susan Hunsecker

• Someday I'd like to look into your clever little mind and see what you're really thinking.

Steve Dallas

• The next time you want information, don't scratch for it like a dog, ask for it like a man!

• It's a dirty job, but I pay clean money for it.

• Mr. Hunsecker, you've got more twists than a barrel of pretzels!

Dialogue

Sally: But Sidney, you make a living. Where do you want to get?

Sidney Falco: Way up high, Sam, where it's always balmy. Where no one snaps his fingers and says, "Hey, Shrimp, rack the balls!" Or, "Hey, mouse, mouse, go out and buy me a pack of butts." I don't want tips from the kitty. I'm in the big game with the big players... In brief, from now on, the best of everything is good enough for me.

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Sidney Falco: Sure, the columnists can't do without us, except our good and great friend J.J. forgets to mention that. You see, we furnish him with items.

J.J. Hunsecker: What, some cheap, gruesome gags?

Sidney Falco: You print 'em, don't ya?

J.J. Hunsecker: Yes, with your clients' names attached. That's the only reason the poor slobs pay you - to see their names in my column all over the world. Now, I make it out, you're doing *me* a favor?... The day I can't get along without a press agents' handouts, I'll close up shop and move to Alaska, lock, stock, and barrel.

Cast

• Burt Lancaster - J.J. Hunsecker
• Tony Curtis - Sidney Falco
• Susan Harrison - Susan Hunsecker
• Martin Milner - Steve Dallas