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.

Classic Season: Manhattan Melodies

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.

Join our mailing list and we'll make sure you always know what's on and when.

What else is on?

Today (Sunday 31st May)
Find out more

12:30

The Lego Movie U
Kino Kids Cinema Club
1h 40m
Kino Kids Cinema Club
Ordinary LEGO figure Emmet is mistaken for a prophesied hero. Reluctantly joining quirky allies, he embarks on a mission to stop an evil tyrant, discovering courage, creativity, and humour along the way in this colourful, action-packed animated adventure.

Book here

Find out more

15:00

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders 15
+ Introduction
1h 17m + 18m short film | Czech w/ English subtitles
Director's Cuts: Lucile Hadžihalilović
In a surreal coming-of-age journey, a girl navigates a dreamlike world of vampires, shifting identities, and religious imagery. A key Czech New Wave classic, it is celebrated for its baroque visual style and influential fusion of horror, folklore, and psychoanalysis.

Book here

Find out more

17:15

Romería 15
1h 52m | Spanish w/ English subtitles
Aspiring filmmaker Marina travels to Galicia to uncover her family’s past, following her late mother’s diary. As buried truths emerge, she confronts grief, identity and belonging in Carla Simón’s (Summer 1993, Alcarràs) warm, autobiographical drama about memory and emotional inheritance.

Book here

Find out more

20:00

Hokum 15
1h 47m
When novelist Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) retreats to a remote inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, he is unsettled by rumours of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Damian McCarthy’s atmospheric psychological horror blends folklore, grief and eerie supernatural mystery.

Book here


Tomorrow (Monday 1st June)
Find out more

17:45

Hokum 15
1h 47m
When novelist Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) retreats to a remote inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, he is unsettled by rumours of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Damian McCarthy’s atmospheric psychological horror blends folklore, grief and eerie supernatural mystery.

Book here

Find out more

20:15

Romería 15
1h 52m | Spanish w/ English subtitles
Aspiring filmmaker Marina travels to Galicia to uncover her family’s past, following her late mother’s diary. As buried truths emerge, she confronts grief, identity and belonging in Carla Simón’s (Summer 1993, Alcarràs) warm, autobiographical drama about memory and emotional inheritance.

Book here


See all upcoming films

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!

Find out more