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Sweet Smell of Success

Movie · 1957 · 96 min

A sharp, cynical plunge into a nocturnal world of manipulation and moral rot, where every line cuts and the atmosphere is thick with menace.

About
1957 film by Alexander Mackendrick
Admit oneSweet Smell of Success
Class
Movie
Year
1957
Runtime
96 min
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • corruption
  • power
  • obsession
  • betrayal
  • morality
Places
  • big city
  • workplace
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror1
Humour3
Realism8
Romance2
Tension7
Darkness8
Complexity7
Emotional weight7

Details

Genres
drama, film noir
Directed by
Alexander Mackendrick
Written by
Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman
Starring
Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Martin Milner, Barbara Nichols, David White, Sam Levene, Queenie Smith, Jeff Donnell
Music
Elmer Bernstein
Cinematography
James Wong Howe
Runtime
96 min
Country
United States
Languages
English

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