The Melbourne Cinémathèque & ACMI present
Sweet Smell of Success
When
Wed 3 May 2023
Lancaster is brilliant in his iconic role as a steely, ruthless, muck-raking New York gossip columnist fed the dirt by an array of minions including Tony Curtis’ unctuous press agent. Ernest Lehman and Clifford Odets’ searing, bracingly cynical and endlessly quotable script is wonderfully supported by James Wong Howe’s extraordinary low-key cinematography, a vivid array of bit players and supporting actors including Barbara Nichols and members of The Chico Hamilton Quartet, and one of the great jazz-inflected scores composed by Elmer Bernstein.
Also screening on Wed 3 May
Program
Soft and Hard: The high-wire career of Burt Lancaster
Sweet Smell of Success (1957) – Wed 3 May, 7pm
The Crimson Pirate (1952) – Wed 3 May, 8.55pm
The Swimmer (1968) – Wed 10 May, 7pm
Conversation Piece (1974) – Wed 10 May, 8.50pm
Criss Cross (1949) – Wed 17 May, 7pm
The Train (1964) – Wed 17 May, 8.40pm
About the program
Burt Lancaster (1913–94) didn’t appear in his first film until he was in her early thirties. Prior to his breakthrough role alongside Ava Gardner in The Killers (1946), he had a highly successful career as a circus acrobat and as an entertainer in the Special Forces during World War II...
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About Melbourne Cinémathèque
Australia's longest-running film society, Melbourne Cinémathèque screens significant works of international cinema in the medium they were created, the way they would have originally screened.
Melbourne Cinémathèque is self-administered, volunteer-run, not-for-profit and membership-driven.
