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

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

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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!

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