starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison
written by Clifford Odets, Earnest Lehman
directed by Alexander Mackendrick
97 minutes
Columnist J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) wants publicist Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) to get his sister Karen Huntsecker (Susan Harrison) to break up with her boyfriend, Steve Dallas, a blues guitarist. J.J. promises to help Falco get ahead in his career and doesn't give Falco much in the way of advice as to how to get the job done.
I saw this movie as part of the 2026 Noir City DC film festival at the AFI Silver Theater. I had not seen it before.
I don't think this is noir. It is a compelling but I have to admit that I got lost in it very early on. It wasn't clear to me what the focus of the movie was until maybe halfway or further into the movie. I started to watch it again after I got home on one of those streaming services. It made considerably more sense the second time around.
Is Sidney Falco innocent? Not in the least bit. He doesn't have the kind of power that J.J. Hunsecker possesses but the impression I got is that he would probably be just as ruthless if he did possess it.
Neither of the two main characters was appealing to me in the last bit. Lancaster gets top billing but the main character seems to be Falco.
Notes
I have seen Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis in other movies. This is one of only a few movies in which Susan Harrison has appeared and the only one in which I have seen her. Other actors who appeared in this movie that I have seen before include Martin Milner, Jeff Donnell, Sam Levene, Emile Meyer, David White, and Jay Adler.
The story was based on a novelette written by Earnest Lehman who also worked on the screenplay. Clifford Odets also worked on the screenplay. I have seen other movies on which that both screenwriters worked.
This is the only movie I have seen that was directed by Alexander Mackendrick.
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