Sweet Smell of Success Quotations

Sweet Smell of Success is a 1957 film which tells the story of a powerful newspaper columnist who uses his connections to ruin his sister's relationship with a man he deems inappropriate. It stars Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, and Susan Harrison.

J.J. Hunsecker

Holding an unlit cigarette

Match me, Sidney.

Put on the mask and dance for daddy!

You're dead, son. Get yourself buried.

Everybody knows Manny Davis - except Mrs. Manny Davis.

President? My big toe would make a better President!

My right hand hasn't seen my left hand in thirty years.

I love this dirty town.

Son, I don't relish shooting a mosquito with an elephant gun, so why don't you just shuffle along?

I'd hate to take a bite outta you. You're a cookie full of arsenic.

Well son, it looks like we have to call this game on account of darkness.

Don't remove the gangplank, Sidney - you may wanna get back onboard.

Sidney Falco

Watch me run a 50-yard dash with my legs cut off!

Maybe I left my sense of humor in my other suit.

The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river.

Susan Hunsecker

Someday I'd like to look into your clever little mind and see what you're really thinking.

Steve Dallas

The next time you want information, don't scratch for it like a dog, ask for it like a man!

It's a dirty job, but I pay clean money for it.

Mr. Hunsecker, you've got more twists than a barrel of pretzels!

Dialogue

Sally: But Sidney, you make a living. Where do you want to get?

Sidney Falco: 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, 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... In brief, from now on, the best of everything is good enough for me.

Sidney Falco: Sure, the columnists can't do without us, except our good and great friend J.J. forgets to mention that. You see, we furnish him with items.

J.J. Hunsecker: What, some cheap, gruesome gags?

Sidney Falco: You print 'em, don't ya?

J.J. Hunsecker: Yes, with your clients' names attached. That's the only reason the poor slobs pay you - to see their names in my column all over the world. Now, I make it out, you're doing *me* a favor?... The day I can't get along without a press agents' handouts, I'll close up shop and move to Alaska, lock, stock, and barrel.

Cast

Burt Lancaster - J.J. Hunsecker
Tony Curtis - Sidney Falco
Susan Harrison - Susan Hunsecker
Martin Milner - Steve Dallas