Sweet Smell of Success Page #2

Synopsis: New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan (Susan Harrison), who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas (Marty Milner). Hunsecker strongly disproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method.
Genre: Drama, Film-Noir
Production: United Artists
  Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
8.2
Metacritic:
100
Rotten Tomatoes:
98%
NOT RATED
Year:
1957
96 min
700 Views


SIDNEY:

(interrupting, sharply)

It isn't. I've just seen the early

edition.

SALLY:

But...

SIDNEY:

But what?

SALLY:

That makes five days in a row that

Mr. Hunsecker's cut you out of his

column.

SIDNEY:

May I rent you out as an adding

machine.

He has begun to change his clothes.

SIDNEY:

Get me Joe Robard.

Sally goes back into the outer room.

SIDNEY:

Who else phoned?

SALLY:

The renting agent and the tailor.

SIDNEY:

Pay the rent. Let the tailor wait.

SALLY:

It won't leave much of a balance in

the bank...

(to phone)

Mr. Robard? Could you locate him?

Sidney, in a state of semi-undress, comes to take the phone

from her.

SIDNEY:

(gloomily)

Watch me run a fifty yard dash with

my legs cut off!

Very abruptly, he comes alive on the phone. A real laughing

boy.

SIDNEY:

(effusively)

Sidney, Joe. How do you like it?

I'm running out of alibis! No, I

asked Hunsecker to withhold the

item, until he could give it a

fine, fat paragraph. The column

was running over and I didn't want

you kissed off with just a line...

INT. ROBARD'S CLUB - NIGHT

Robard is a stolid, secure man, balding and with a moustache.

He has a morose sense of humor. He is speaking from a

telephone on a little desk at the end of the bar. In

background, the Club is open, but there are few customers as

yet. Some recorded jazz is being played while the musicians

are still arriving, strolling past in background, depositing

their overcoats and music cases in the little closet assigned

to them.

ROBARD:

(in answer to Sidney)

Of course.

(he listens to

protest from Sidney)

What is this, Sidney, a kissing

game? You're a liar - that's a

publicity man's nature. I wouldn't

hire you if you wasn't a liar. I

pay you a C-and-a-half a week

wherein you plant big lies about me

and the Club all over the map.

(a pause)

Yeah, I mean in that sense. But

also in the sense that you are a

personal liar, too, because you

don't do the work I pay you for.

(new protests on the

other end of the line)

Oh, stop it, Sidney. You're from

the country, not me.

Rate this script:3.0 / 3 votes

Ernest Lehman

Ernest Paul Lehman was an American screenwriter. He received six Academy Award nominations during his career, without a single win. more…

All Ernest Lehman scripts | Ernest Lehman Scripts

1 fan

Submitted by aviv on November 07, 2016

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Sweet Smell of Success" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/sweet_smell_of_success_524>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    Sweet Smell of Success

    Browse Scripts.com

    Sweet Smell of Success

    Soundtrack

    »

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.