{"id":84,"date":"2018-04-11T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T09:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/academics.winona.edu\/povwinona\/?p=84"},"modified":"2018-04-11T21:07:12","modified_gmt":"2018-04-11T21:07:12","slug":"when-does-crime-become-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/academics.winona.edu\/povwinona\/when-does-crime-become-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweet Smell of Success: Redefining Crime–and Film Noir"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the situations and themes within noir films can vary dramatically\u2014for instance\u00a0Kiss Me Deadly\u2019<\/em>s brooding science fiction compared to Sunset Boulevard<\/em>\u2019s dark social satire\u2014 the one integral plot point that remains consistent for all\u00a0 of film noir is the investigation of a crime.\u00a0 Usually, the crime becomes immediately apparent in the first few minutes of each film, whether it\u2019s already happened, as in Double Indemnity<\/em>, or it\u2019s occurring live on screen, as in The Maltese Falcon<\/em>.\u00a0 Keeping this idea in mind, Alexander Mackendrick\u2019s 1957 Sweet Smell of Success<\/em> can hardly be considered a noir film at first glance.\u00a0 While its characters are unscrupulous, greedy, and conniving, they operate entirely within the limits of the law.\u00a0 In fact, it isn\u2019t until the last twenty-five minutes of the film that an actual crime is introduced.\u00a0 It is in this way, by refusing to include a formal crime until the story\u2019s end, that Sweet Smell of Success<\/em> seeks to re-define the meaning of crime and proves itself as a unique and worthy addition to the noir genre.<\/p>\n

Like many noir films, the moive was adapted from a prior work: a novella titled Tell Me About It Tomorrow,<\/em> written by Ernest Lehman.\u00a0 Lehman adapted his work into the screenplay along with Clifford Odetts and Mackendrick. \u00a0The story features smart, fast-paced dialogue and follows one press agent\u2019s tireless and immoral efforts to keep himself in the good graces of an extremely powerful newspaper columnist.\u00a0 Tony Curtis stars as Sidney Falco, the scheming press agent, and Burt Lancaster is J.J. Hunsecker, the legendary columnist. Sidney Falco was an uncharacteristically villainous role for Tony Curtis, who normally played pretty boy type characters.\u00a0 If audiences have any confusion at the start of the movie over the nature of Curtis\u2019s character, they are immediately put to rest by Falco himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think I\u2019m a hero,\u201d Falco says, all but winking at the audience six minutes into the film.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I\u2019m no hero.\u00a0 I\u2019m nice to people where it pays me to be nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sidney Falco is not who you think he is.<\/p><\/div>\n

Falco is true to his word: he snaps at his secretary, ignores his clients\u2019 phone calls, pressures his lover to prostitute herself to an older man, and prints a false smear on a man\u2019s reputation, all for his own self-gain. If Falco is bad, J. J. Hunsecker is even worse.\u00a0 The columnist makes a living off of other people\u2019s misfortune, printing as much gossip and sensationalism as he can get his hands on.\u00a0 His power to print anything makes him dangerous; he will print requests, but only if given favors in return.\u00a0 It is this cycle of information and favors that serve as currency for Hunsecker and his underlings, including Falco.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the ugliest plot that Hunsecker directs is his plan to break apart the relationship between his sister and her boyfriend.\u00a0 While the film avoids the typical noir tropes, Susan Hunsecker, played by Susan Harrison, serves as an inadvertent femme fatale for her brother.\u00a0 Susan is timid, quiet, and totally atypical for the archetype, yet she holds tremendous power over J.J., and, indirectly, Falco, even if she seems unaware of it.\u00a0 Ultimately, without giving too much away, Susan has her revenge on both men, cementing her role as the femme fatale.<\/p>\n

Mackendrick\u2019s directorial style notably avoids most of the stylized cinematography typical of noir.\u00a0 Camera angles are relatively simple, consisting almost solely on medium to medium-close up shots with the occasional long shot thrown in.\u00a0 A normal lens appears to be used and no characters are stylistically distorted in the frame.\u00a0 The film also has unusually high key lighting for noir; it saves the high contrast lighting for important dramatic scenes.\u00a0 One such scene is where Hunsecker is first physically introduced.\u00a0 While Falco and the background are well lit with high key light, Hunsecker\u2019s face is covered with contrasted shadows, giving him a mysterious appearance that only serves to further boost his legendary reputation.<\/p>\n

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Sidney Falco has less contrast in his face than J.J. Hunsecker because he’s not as powerful.<\/p><\/div>\n

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J.J. Hunsecker is lit with extreme contrast for his dramatic moments.<\/p><\/div>\n

One classic noir component that is also included in the film is the way that the environment, New York City, is a character in itself.\u00a0 From the opening titles, as Hunsecker\u2019s newspaper truck rolls out onto the streets to Elmer Bernestein\u2019s raucous, jazzy score, the extended shots of the city\u2019s flashing signs, shouting people, and general hubbub portray a frantic, wild setting that is caught up in its own web of greed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love this dirty town,\u201d Hunsecker remarks, and, judging from the size of Hunsecker\u2019s name on the delivery truck (which is where the character is truly first introduced), the town loves him back.<\/p>\n