Sweet Smell of Success

BFI Film Classics

James Naremore

British Film Institute

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One of the most daring films of the 1950s, the dark satire Sweet Smell of Success, took on McCarthyism at a time when film studios were cringing under the repressive eye of the censors and an equally intimidating political and media environment. Starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis, this film was the first of its kind to take on the Hollywood system as it served up a dose of revenge for the left against the suffocating cultural atmosphere of the period. James Naremore’s insightful study offers new information about the many revisions of the screenplay, negotiations with censors, and the tense circumstances under which the film was shot and received by critics and the public. He also provides a detailed commentary on the finished product, analyzing the important contributions of its several talented creators.

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Andy  rated it  
Jun 15, 2011
Closer to 3.5 stars. This is the first book I've read from the BFI Films series. It's quite short (only 110 pages) and I suppose it's designed to give the reader the gist of the movie. It gives a few interesting details and provides scattered insight into certain aspects of the film, but is far from ...more
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Tosh  rated it  
Jan 26, 2011
When ever I go to a supper place and have a drink of wine or a martini and sit by myself looking over the restaurant I think of Burt Landcaster in "Sweet Smell of Success." i would like to think i have that type of power to take over a table - but alas the imagination is stronger than li ...more
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About the Author

James Naremore

James Naremore is the author of a number of books, including Acting in the Cinema (California, 1988), The Films of Vincente Minnelli, More than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts, and On Kubrick. Emeritus Chancellors’ Professor at Indiana University, he lives in Bloomington, IN.

James Naremore

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Sweet Smell of Success
BFI Film Classics
James Naremore

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
British Film Institute
July 2010
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9781844572885
ISBN10: 1844572889
7 1/2 x 5 1/4 inches, 96 pages, 60 b/w photos
$15.00
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