Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis), a press agent, is pissed. J. J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) has been shutting his gossip out of his famous newspaper column for days now — all because Falco has somehow failed to break up a relationship between Hunsecker’s sister, Susan (Susan Harrison) and a guitar player in Chico Hamilton’s quintet, Steve Dallas (Martin Milner).
Falco’s secretary, Sally (Jeff Donnell) is trying to be sympathetic to her boss’s problems:
SALLY
Why does Mr. Hunsecker want to squeeze your livelihood away? What do you stand for that kind of treatment for?
SIDNEY
He’s punishing me. His kid sister’s having a romance with some guitar player. He asked me to break it up. I thought I did, but maybe I didn’t. Now I gotta go find out. And Hunsecker’s the golden ladder to the places I wanna get.
SALLY
Sidney, you make a living. Where do you want to get?
SIDNEY
Way up high, Sam, where it’s always balmy. Where no one snaps his fingers and says, “Hey, shrimp, rack the balls” … or “Hey, mouse, go out and buy me a pack of butts.” I don’t want tips from the kitty. I’m in the big game with the big players. My experience I can give you in a nutshell … and I didn’t dream it in a dream either: Dog eat dog. In brief, from now on the best of everything is good enough for me.
This early example of the film’s crackling dialogue is typical. Later, Falco and Hunsecker have a conversation after things have turned upside down with the saga of Susie and Steve:
SIDNEY
I got that boy coming over here today.
J. J.
If I can trust my eyes — and I think I can — Susie knows all about your dirty work.
SIDNEY
Can’t hurt.
J. J.
Can’t hurt? I had to get that boy his job back.
SIDNEY
Look, J.J. … we can tie this off into one neat bundle; address it to the dumps, to oblivion. We’re doing great, but please do it my way. I’ve cased this kid. I know his ins and outs. He’s full of juice and vinegar, just waiting for a big shot like you to put on the squeeze. You got the boy his job back — okay. But he’s not gonna accept your favor. The manager, yeah, but not that boy.
J. J.
What has this boy got that Susie likes?
SIDNEY
Integrity. Acute, like indigestion.
J. J.
What does this mean, “integrity?”
SIDNEY
A pocketful of firecrackers waitin’ for a match. You know, it’s a new wrinkle. To tell you the truth, I never thought I’d make a killing on some guy’s integrity.
J. J.
I’d hate to take a bite out of you. You’re a cookie full of arsenic.
At 1:04:30, a scene between five people (Frank D’Angelo [Sam Levene], Steve, Susie, J. J. and Falco); cinematographer James Wong Howe is magnificent here; everyone is perfectly blocked and framed and at one point, Falco and J. J. move and the camera dollies to frame them perfectly.
In the exteriors, gritty Broadway — filmed mostly at night — never looked better.
Howe was one of the greats. He shot his first film, Drums of Fate (1923) at age 24 and his last, Funny Lady (1975) at age 76.
**
Chico Hamilton‘s jazzy score is the spice that makes Mackendrick’s mise-en-scène that much tastier.
The producers actually followed Chico’s band around for weeks, making sure no one was smoking marijuana. They weren’t taking any chances.
**
Near the end of the film, Falco is toasting his success:
SIDNEY
Gentlemen, I’m toasting my favorite new perfume. Success.
What’s that we’re smelling?
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Author: Lewis Saul
