Faux Real: Truth-telling in Narrative Film- The Sweet Smell of Success

Dir. Alexander Mackendrick, 1957, 96 min.

Tyrannical gossip columnist J.J. Hunsceker  (Burt Lancaster) rules the roost amidst New York City’s mid-century fame game. Sidney Falco, played by the late, great Tony Curtis (1925-2010), is Hunsceker’s sidekick as well as a hustling publicist consumed by desperate ambition. Hunsceker is determined to prevent his sister from marrying Steve Dallas, a jazz musician, and employs Falco to break up the affair by any means necessary. One of the most real films the Hollywood machine ever churned out.