This is a good movie - if you can follow it. It's a simple enough story, but packed with he said/he said/she said - and nobody can really be believed as the characters in this drama-noir are all bad guys doing dirty tricks. But that's also what makes it entertaining.
Sidney Falco (played by Tony Curtis) is a press agent who has been unable to gain mentions for his clients in J.J. Hunsecker's (superbly played by Burt Lancaster) nationally syndicated newspaper column because of his failure to make good on a promise to break up the romance between Hunsecker's younger sister, Susan, and jazz musician Steve Dallas.
Falco is losing money and clients. Falco is given one last chance by Hunsecker, and - losing money and clients - schemes to plant a false rumor in a rival column that Dallas is a marijuana-smoking Communist. Falco encourages Hunsecker to rescue Dallas's reputation through his immense media influence, certain Dallas will reject Hunsecker's favor and end up looking bad to Susan. Personally, I saw this as a rather thin scheme, and one that could easily fall apart. But it does work - sort of. Dallas refuses assistance from the likes of Hunsecker, and forces annoyingly timid Susan to chose between them. Dedicated to her brother, mousey Susan breaks up with Dallas. This isn't good enough for the might Hunsecker though, who has a bruised ego from Dallas' insults in refusing his help. So he decides to ruin Dallas after all (against Falco's advice) and wants to have marijuana planted on the musician, then have him arrested and roughed up by a corrupt police lieutenant. It is such a dirty trick that even career-desperate Falco wants no part of it. Until, that is, Hunsecker promises to take a long vacation from his powerful column and turn it over to Falco in his absence. At a nightclub, Falco slips the marijuana cigarettes into a pocket of a coat belonging to Dallas, who is later accosted by the police outside the club.
The scheme seeming to be a success, Falco goes to a bar where, surrounded by his industry pals, he toasts "to his new perfume, the sweet smell of success". Festivities are put on hold when Falco is summoned—he assumes by Hunsecker—to the columnist's penthouse apartment, where he finds Susan attempting to commit suicide by jumping off the balcony. Falco stops her from jumping and pulls her back into the apartment. When Hunsecker arrives suddenly, and doesn't understand why Falco is there, Hunsecker realizes Susan called Falco there. Falco then tries to explain that Susan tried to kill herself, but Susan refuses to verify this and, for a few moments, allows Hunsecker to slap Falco for finding him in her bedroom and putting his hands on her (after he had pulled her inside from her suicide attempt). During the confrontation, Falco reveals to Susan that it was her brother who ordered him to destroy Dallas's reputation and their relationship. Hunsecker makes a call to the lieutenant to come after Falco, telling him that Falco planted the marijuana in Dallas’ coat. Falco tries to flee but is caught in Times Square by the dirty cop. Back in the penthouse, Susan, her bags packed, acknowledges to her brother that she attempted suicide, considering death preferable to living with him. She walks out on him, saying that she will go to Steve Dallas. From his apartment balcony, Hunsecker watches his sister leaving him, as she walks out into the coming daylight on the street below.
For me, the movie had moments of "huh? Who said what now?" but the story line was engaging enough, and seeing Lancaster as the ultimate bad guy was a treat. Surprisingly perhaps, this was the first Tony Curtis movie I'd ever seen, so I really can't fairly rate his performance. But it certainly wasn't one that made me say "Wow! Let me immediately start watching other Curtis movies". (Sorry, film world).
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