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 (Monday 21st September)

20:30

Bad Education 15
1h 46m | Spanish w/ English subtitles
When a filmmaker’s childhood friend returns with a story about abuse at their Catholic school, buried memories resurface. Almodóvar’s provocative blend of noir, melodrama and film-within-a-film explores trauma, identity, guilt and memory.

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Tomorrow (Tuesday 22nd September)

18:00

I Want Your Sex 18
£6 for Members / HOH Subtitles
1h 30m
Cooper Hoffman and Olivia Wilde star in Gregg Araki’s (Mysterious Skin) wickedly satirical comedy about sex, obsession and power. When a young man becomes an artist’s sexual muse, his dream job takes a dark and dangerous turn.

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20:15

Teenage Sex & Death at Camp Mias 15
£6 for Members
1h 52m
Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow) unleashes a bloody, bewildering meta-horror, as a young director and a reclusive scream queen descend into a delirious world of queer desire, fear and blood-soaked obsession. Starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.

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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!