Chapo Trap House - Movie Mindset 08 Teaser - The Sweet Smell of Success

Episode Date: June 14, 2023

Will and Hesse discuss Burt Lancaster in the 1957 classic The Sweet Smell of Success. Subscribe today for access to the full episode and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/chapotraphouse

But this movie is like, you know, you mentioned like, Consecker has this like center of gravity around which like all all the sleaze and evil of New York City just sort of revolves around. And like in this movie, he really is like, like a mefistophiles. Like he is like Satan incarnate and Manhattan at night is just the inferno. And he is like, you know, in the frozen lake at the center of it is just J.J. Hunsecker, the most powerful columnist in America based on Walter And he is like, you know, in the frozen lake at the center of it is just JJ Hunsucker. The most powerful columnist in America based on Walter Winshel.

And did you know that actually Walter Winshel, as we'll see in the plot of this movie, Walter Winshel, worked with J. Edgar Hoover to get his, to commit his daughter to an insane asylum and get her fiance deported from the country. Well, that's sick. That's just like, wow, that's just like in that movie, the sweet smell of success. Well, it's all sort of like semi-based on Walter Winchell, but I guess my big headlines

for sweet smell of success are stylized dialogue, menace, homo-erotic sadism. Yes, the homo-roticism is really crazy because the main character is, it's technically not Bert Lancaster, it's like Tony Curtis's Sydney Falco. Yeah, Sydney Falco, publicists to the not stars.

But basically, Tony Curtis is the, the point of view character that we're with. And we get to see him trying to climb this horrible ladder that he can't collapse. The Golden Ladder is all J.J. Hunts' secretary says he's the golden ladder to wherever I want to go. And it's really heartbreaking to see this guy who we kind of come to like even though, because it's like Tony Curtis, very charismatic, like very, I always think whenever I hear Tony Curtis's voice, I always think he sounds like a cartoon alley cat for some reason. Oh, come on, give me a piece of that fish bone,

come on. And he's just so lovable and likable. And you you see like glimpses of like what could be of him like taking a stand and being principled and being like a good person at certain points in the movie and then, but JJ Hutsuckers always right there to fucking slam him back down pulling back down to hell. Well, I'm glad we're doing a sweet, small success because you know, obviously this is a birthday

and cast episode, but we can have sort of a mini Tony Curtis episode as well. Yes. Because Tony Curtis deserves his own episode. And this was like, he was sort of a heartthrob before this movie. This is actually his first like more serious movie. He'd actually just started another movie with Bert Landcaster called Trapies, which I've seen on TCM one time. It's not, you know, it's funny. It's funny. It's like sort of based on, yeah, based on, you know, like Bert Landcaster called Trap Ease, which I've seen on TCM one time. It's not, you know, it's funny.

It's fine. It's like sort of based on, yeah, based on, you know, like Bert Landcaster's own experience. His circus, his life, his life of the circus. Now, as I don't even feel like disagree with you, but what I will say about Tony Curtis in this movie, like the thing to me that makes this such an impressive performance next to Bert Landcaster, who's like, you know, stunning, is that as Sydney Falco, you're right, like there's an impish quality to Tony Curtis that like, you can't help but melt your heart.

What I really appreciate about Sydney Falco is that does not give you an inch in terms of like ever letting you like this character. Like there, like JJ and Sydney are both like, they're like in this bizarre, like, trist between each other for who can be the most evil person on the planet. Yeah. And I mean, it's J.J. because he has all the power and their relationship.

And Sydney is his like little red field. His idea man. Yeah. I know. So the movie begins and we are introduced to the life of sleazy press agent, Sydney Falco played by Tony Curtis. He lives in his office in the Manhattan Theatre District. He's got his bed in his office, his door just has his name taped onto it. And he's this hyper ambitious little striver who works as like, I mean,

press agent, it seems like it's sort of like, I guess they're just called PR people now. Yeah. But back in the day, this was one rung above being a pimp, basically. Yeah. And in this movie, he like literally does become a pimp. Yeah. Certain points in it. But like this is a truly disreputable profession. I mean, how everyone views Sidney Falco's character in this movie is how everyone should

view anyone in the field of PR or communications now. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. They treat him like dirt and rightfully so, honestly. And he gets to his office and immediately starts abusing his poor secretary who it's very funny because it looks like an office until he opens the door

and you do see like a green size bed in there. And he's like, all right, time to get started on my day. And then his like secretary isaries like you forgot your coat Don't forget your coat you'll catch a cold and he's like shut up you dumb bitch I'm not paying a tip for the coach check He's like what happened go ahead and not tips a coach. I saw my kill yourself Working we got like we get a taste of the um and like really like a lot of the power of this movie is in the screenplay Which is just like a lot of writers regard this this movie is in the screenplay, which is just like a lot of writers

regard this movie as like the best movie ever like like for instance Vince Gilligan created Breaking Bad and better call Saul the second and third episodes of Breaking Bad are called The Cats in the Bag and the bags in the River which is a direct vote from this movie But like this movies use of like very stylized dialogue thatized dialogue that just cuts like a razor and it's fighting yeah, and like for instance you mentioned how evil he is to his secretary He goes you ought to know me in my now Sally. I'm nice to people when it pays me to be nice So don't expect me to do it in my own office And it goes it goes it makes me feel bad when mr. Hunsucker hurts you and then he goes but JJ

He's the golden ladder at all the places I want to go. And he sort of had the dilemma that Sydney faces at the beginning of this movie is that he is like, he has this relationship with JJ is that he's in love with JJ. But but JJ has is giving him the cold shoulder. He's freezing him in the high hat. As like giving the high hat. The cold shoulder, the high hat, and certainly not the glad hand. And basically all of Sydney's items are being frozen out of JJ's column

because like, you know, like he depends, like, you know, like he furnishes him with like, you know, little, little items about like, oh, like this jazz band that who hired me is. And then like to get in to get in JJ's column, it's just like, hey, if you're looking to see a good jazz band, check out so and so. But he's being frozen out because he's been tasked

before the movie began with breaking up the relationship between JJ Hunsucker's sister and a jazz musician that he doesn't approve of named Steve Dallas, who's like the whitest jazz man. Yeah, I was like, Mr. Inmate, I'm like, this is some of the worst casting ever. This guy looks like a total, what's his name is Steve Dallas, the actor though.

Oh, the actor, I don't know that it. Merle something, something Merle or something. Merle the jazz man. Yeah, Merle the jazz man. But the jazz band, this is interesting. I don't know if you know this. or something. Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur- Mur opening theme of the movie Ocean's Eleven. It's like, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, don, like, before the movie even begins, we're like, a J.J. is completely offscreen, but yeah, as you said, has he really like dominates the action of like the first 20, 30 minutes of this movie, because like everyone, even without like him being physically present, is sort of dancing to his tune. And we're already like given a sort of a glimpse into this kind of sadomasticistic relationship between Sydney Falco

and JJ Hunsucker. We're like, it's one of favors for a favor, but this one involves a personal favor involving JJ's sister. And like, this is really what dominates the plot of the movie is JJ's obsession with his sister. And for a movie made in 1957, this is why I said like JJ HunsJay Hunsecker is the only villain

in the American like film canon that I can come close to comparing to how evil he is, is John Houston's Noah Cross in Chinatown. Yeah, and that's no accident because Incess is a huge theme of this movie as well. Yeah, this movie is sexually deranged. I would guy would describe it as, it's truly like wild.

And you know, like it's like in Chinatown, the incest is explicit because that movie was made in the 70s. But in 1957, they do everything but make it explicit that like JJ has designs on his sister. So the full-up is man being a subscriber. He's not good enough to slash a chopper. Because there's only one man good enough for a, good enough for a Susie, who's a second,

which is JJ himself. Yeah. And it's, it's really incredible. Like towards the end, Tony Curtis touches her, um, touches the sister to like save her from killing herself basically, not to spoil anything, but I guess we'll get there. And he's just so mad at the, I guess he does

just for the full episode. Touching the story. Patreon.com slash childhood traps. So mad that he's like ready to kill him. This literally tries to kill him because of it. And like there's this whole thing where JJ has like absolute contempt for Sydney because he's like a he's a grubby dirty little man. He's a beta. Yeah, like, but he does all of JJ's dirty deeds for him and he

regards that as a moral for the full episode. Subscribe at patreon.com slash chapo trap house. you