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Sweet Smell of Success, the classic 1957 Alexander Mackendrick New York City newspaper gossip columnist press agent romantic film noir family relationship melodrama ("Pour it on, sonny, pour it on... tell J.J. the latest dirt for his morning column... sixty million avid readers are waiting... tell him about the Senator and the blonde... tell him about that crooner who smokes that 'crazy' brand... pour it on sonny... light his cigarettes and make with the jokes... keep him amused - and try to forget what he's going to do to you when you tell him about his kid sister!"; "Tonight's gossip... tomorrow's gospel!"; "Beware these 'gentlemen' of the press!"; "'C'mon baby... do it for me, baby... go to him!'"; "'There's no woman for me Susie, you know that... you're my own sister!'"; "The world-famed columnist who commands sixty million readers... He can make a star, break a senator or 'fix' a politician - in ten words or less! And this is the kid who had ideas about taking over!"; "The motion picture that will never be forgiven - or forgotten!"; "They know him - and they shiver - the big names of Broadway, Hollywood and Capitol Hill. They know J.J. - the world-famed columnist whose gossip is gospel to sixty million readers! They know the venom that flickers in those eyes behind the glasses - and they fawn - like Sid Falco, the kid who wanted 'in' so much, he'd sell out his own girl to stand up there with J.J., sucking in the sweet smell of success! This is J.J.'s story - but not the way he would have liked it told!"; "The almighty J.J. ...the columnist with sixty million believers ...his wrath is feared by the great and near great who worship the Sweet Smell of Success!"; "J.J.- to 60,000,000 readers ...a hell on earth to the celebrities -the senators -every big name who squirmed in his squeezing fist!"; "..ask Sid- who'd sell anything to stand up there with J.J. -and suck in the sweet smell of success"; "This is the story of J.J. -But no the way he wants it told!"; "Screenplay by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman"; "From the Novelette by Ernest Lehman"; with some of the wildest dialog ever heard in any movie!) starring Burt Lancaster ("as the world famous columnist, J.J. Hunsecker"), Tony Curtis ("as Sidney Falco, the kid who wanted 'in'"), Susan Harrison (billed as "Introducing Susan Harrison"), ("Featuring") Martin Milner (billed as "Marty Milner"), Sam Levene, Barbara Nichols, Jeff Donnell, The Chico Hamilton Quintet, Emile Meyer, David White, Lawrence Dobkin, and Lurene Tuttle. Note that this movie was written by Ernest Lehman, and years before he had worked for Walter Winchell, and J.J. Hunsecker is clearly based on Winchell. He went to Burt Lancaster with this script on the provision that he be allowed to direct it, because he wanted to break into directing. In twists worthy of the movie itself, Lancaster agreed, but soon brought in Alexander Mackendrick to replace Lehman (some think he never intended to honor his promise from the start), and then he brought in Clifford Odets to rewrite the script! But while Lehman was treated horribly on this movie, his later career included writing North by Northwest, West Side Story, and The Sound of Music, so obviously, he bounced back wonderfully!
NOTE: Click on linked names to see a biography.

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Important Added Info: Note that all of the posters for this classic movie have different images, which is really nice (and unusual for a movie from 1957). But all of those posters are based on photographic images of Lancaster and Curtis, EXCEPT for this 24-sheet, which has wonderful artwork head & shoulders images of the two stars facing off (just as they do in the movie). Note that this 24-sheet is one of a remarkable group of six 24-sheets (and one English 30-sheet) that we are offering in seven separate auctions. These posters (often referred to as "billboard posters") were always pasted to walls or billboards when they were used, so the only ones that survive are the few that didn't get used at the time. But VERY, VERY few 24-sheets survive from any movie from before 1990, because no one thought to save them, and the unused ones were almost always trashed. To give you a sense of how very rare they are, we have held over 1.2 million auctions, and of those, around 75 of them were for 24-sheets, and only a dozen of them were from before 1960! So not only are the seven billboard movie posters offered here extremely rare (and some may be the only remaining example in existence), but they are also some of the very small number of billboard movie posters still in existence period! Note that this twenty-four sheet was printed in 12 sections designed to overlap. This 24-sheet poster was folded in a way that makes it resemble a folded six-sheet (only much larger, of course, as there are many more sections). But while the length and width of the folded 24-sheet is similar to that of a folded six-sheet or three-sheet, it is somewhat larger and also has greater depth. This means that this 24-sheet needs to be sent in an oversized flat package, which will measure roughly 16" x 24" x 2", and it will cost more to send than a regular sized package.

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