Two Film Noir Favorites: The Third Man and Sweet Smell of Success

This fall I again watched two of my fave film noir movies, The Third Man and Sweet Smell of Success. Film noir was a style of Hollywood film, popular in the 40's and 50's that sought to expose and exploit the dark side of life. Themes were ambiguous, often not pretty, and occasionally considered scandalous.

They were primarily black and white and gritty. Many have been resurrected less successfully than intended (eg. Cape Fear), though some have emulated the genre with superb flare (eg. L.A. Confidential).

The Third Man

Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Alida Valli and Trevor Howard, based on the novel by Graham Greene. The zither soundtrack is playful and somber simultaneously. If you've seen the film before the opening strumming will give you a lift as you know you're entering a story that has previously moved you. I have never tired of the play of characters with competing motives.

1. Unrelenting fascination is what I have every time I watch this movie. It never seems old. It's in my mind, haunting me, with its unearthly music and its dark, oblique photography. And that great Orson Welles' speech, and also the best entrance in movie history to go along with the best exit in movie history. It couldn't be better. I can't even express how I feel in words. It's worth re-visiting, if you've seen it, and worth seeing if you haven't. The music track is Anton Karras on the zither. It greets you at the open and carries you through. When I hear the opening notes it awakens anticipation and memories simultaneously.

2. Of all the movies during the studio era (pre-1960ish), there are three movies with cinematography that always stick out in my mind: Gregg Toland's work in Citizen Kane, Russel Mety's work in Touch of Evil, and Robert Krasker's work in The Third Man (all starring Orson Welles funny enough). I just recently saw a restored 35mm version of The Third Man. The crisp black and white visuals of a bombed out Vienna are so breath-taking. Shadows are everywhere. The unique way Krasker tilts the camera in some shots adding to the disorientation of the plot. And who can forget the first close-up of Welles with the light from an apartment room above splashing onto his face; one of the great entrances in movie history (Lime gives his old friend a smile that only Welles could give.)
>>>Source: Reviewer at imdb.com

Here is my 2011 review. 

Sweet Smell of Success

The thick jazz intro by Elmer Bernstein is a perfect setup for this big film about power and influence. Who's got it? J.J. Hunsecker. Who wants it? Sidney Falco. Sidney's a publicity man from the slimeball school. He purportedly has the power to get PR for his clients, though the real power lies in J.J.Hunsecker's palm. And Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) takes pleasure in crushing people. "Hunsecker is the golden ladder to where I want to get," says Falco (Tony Curtis). Oh the games people play.

There are four main characters in the story. Falco, Hunsecker, Hunsecker's sister Susie, and a jazz guitarist whose stage name is Steve Dallas.

In scene one Sidney Falco finds that a story he promised a client will not appear in tomorrow's Hunsecker column. Falco knows why. Susie is in love with the jazz guitarist and Hunsecker is expecting Falco to break it up. So within the first ten minutes we see what everybody wants. The music and the gritty black-and-white texture of the film are a tip-off.

The screenwriting is A-plus, line after zinger line. Acting is spot on, too. The emotional tension tightens with each turn of the screw.

Here's my 2016 review of this powerful story.

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If you like Film Noir and you're looking for films to add to your queue, check out this list of 100 All Time Film Noir Favorites 

Three of my favorites from that list besides the aforementioned: The Killing (Kubrick), Touch of Evil
and Chinatown.

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Though this blog post is about films, the two films cited above were also powerful books, which I also enjoyed immensely and have read more than once each.

While thinking about books it dawned on me that eBooks do seem to have a shortcoming when it comes to Christmas. No one will buy my eBook The Red Scorpion and place it under a Christmas tree. On the other hand, if you get some Christmas money and own an eBook reader, it's currently only a $2.99 download for this YA suspense thriller. (I'm raising the price by a dollar in January, fwiw.) More info here.

Barbed Dialogue At Its Sharpest: Sweet Smell of Success

"Maybe I left my sense of humor in my other suit." 
~ Sidney Falco

This week I decided to watch Sweet Smell of Success again, the 1957 stinger starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. The genre is film noir, the story of an unethical Broadway columnist and his conniving press agent. Lancaster excels as the heavy, J.J. Hunsecker, with Tony Curtis clothing himself in the role of the slimy and unscrupulous Sidney Falco.

There are three features of this film that make it exceptional. First is the sizzling dialog. Second is the evocative cinematography. Third, a taut storyline that crackles with tension.

The four main characters here are Sidney Falco, J.J. Hunsecker, J.J.'s sister Susan, played by Susan Harrison, and her boyfriend Steve Dallas, a jazz guitar player played by Martin Milner (better known for his role in the TV show Route 66. Essentially, J.J. doesn't want his sister involved with a jazz musician but uses Falco to do the dirty work lest he sully his own reputation. It's a sordid game that Falco is willing to play because his only ethic is what it will get him for himself.

For Hunsecker, everyone is a pawn, including his sister. He has to control all the pieces on the board. There are no people in his world, only pawns to be manipulated. He's a beast who can't see his own beastliness, and for this reason is a very scary character. Susan sees this, sees how toxic her brother is, and must escape to keep her sanity and sense of self intact.

The power of the dialog is noteworthy, like professional prizefighters jabbing, parrying punches with flurries of smashing body blows and right hooks to the side of the head. When I saw that Ernest Lehman had written the screenplay I had an "Aha" type of recognition. His other Hollywood scripts included the explosive Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, North by Northwest, West Side Story, Hello Dolly!, The Sound of Music, and The King and I. The guy is good and worth further study.

The names of the two main characters are noteworthy.  J.J. Hunsecker combines the word Hun with the soundalike Bloodsucker. It was Attila the Hun who forced the Eastern Roman Empire to pay tribute to the Huns in exchange for the use of trade routes. J.J. is just this kind of power in the New York arts and culture scene. Bow before him or become meat for the lions.

Sidney Falco is an equally interesting name. One immediately thinks of the Falcon, carnivorous bird. In point of fact, the falcon is one of 37 species of raptors in the genus Falco. Unlike hawks and eagles that kill with their talons, falcons kill with their beaks. Falcons also have exceptional visual acuity. They are swift, and dangerous. The pathetic Sidney is also without conscience. From the opening he is established as a schemer.

When you read some of the great lines, you realize it isn't just what was written but how it's delivered that gives it its force. "You're dead, son. Get yourself buried." Hunsecker's tongue is a stiletto to the gut. Of his 67 films Sweet Smell Of Success was his highest rated performance by the critics on RottenTomatoes.com. The film did not do well at the box office when released, in part perhaps because it was ahead of its time.

The smell here isn't sweet, but it is intense. I recommend the book as well, more of a long short story than a short novella. You can also find the original screenplay here.

Five stars out of five.