Sweet Smell of SuccessPG

Directed Alexander Mackendrick | USA | 1957 | 1h 36m | Starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Martin Milner, Jeff Donnell

Powerful New York columnist J.J. Hunsecker shapes public opinion with his influential Broadway column, but he can’t control his younger sister. Disapproving of her romance with an aspiring jazz musician, Hunsecker enlists ruthless press agent Sidney Falco to destroy the relationship by any means. Alexander Mackendrick’s classic noir is a biting critique of newspaper gossip and a dark portrait of human nature at its worst – one of the sharpest films of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Reviews

‘One of the sharpest and corrosively perceptive films to emerge from Hollywood.’
★★★★★
Jason Wood, BBC

‘New York never looked as thrillingly sordid as it does in this scabrous masterpiece.’
★★★★★
Wendy Ide, The Observer

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Sweet Smell of Success between February 16, 2025 and February 17, 2025.

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What else is on?

Today (Saturday 14th March)

14:30

Iron Ladies 12A
1h 38m
Inspiring documentary chronicling British women during the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike and how their courage and resilience transformed family life, labour politics, and working-class women’s roles. Screening presented by the Oxford International Women’s Festival.

Book here

17:15

“Wuthering Heights” 15
2h 16m
In 18th-century Yorkshire, brooding outsider Heathcliff falls for Catherine, the daughter of his master, igniting a destructive love story of obsession. Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie star in Emerald Fennell’s (Saltburn) sensual adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel.

Book here

20:15

The Secret Agent 15
2h 41m | Portuguese w/ English subtitles
Carnival, communal resistance, political tensions, and a man's missing leg collide in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s slow-burning 1970s political thriller. The Oscar-nominated Wagner Moura stars in this gripping examination of Brazil’s turbulent past.

Book here


Tomorrow (Sunday 15th March)

14:30

Cléo from 5 to 7 PG
1h 31m | French w/ English subtitles
While awaiting life-changing medical results, a pop singer wanders Paris, encountering strangers and herself anew. Agnès Varda’s intimate New Wave classic captures fleeting moments, female subjectivity, and 1960s Paris, lifted by Michel Legrand’s unforgettable music.

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16:45

The Secret Agent 15
2h 41m | Portuguese w/ English subtitles
Carnival, communal resistance, political tensions, and a man's missing leg collide in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s slow-burning 1970s political thriller. The Oscar-nominated Wagner Moura stars in this gripping examination of Brazil’s turbulent past.

Book here

20:15

“Wuthering Heights” 15
2h 16m
In 18th-century Yorkshire, brooding outsider Heathcliff falls for Catherine, the daughter of his master, igniting a destructive love story of obsession. Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie star in Emerald Fennell’s (Saltburn) sensual adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel.

Book here


Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!