Discover
-
Janet Leigh
Executive Producer -
Tony Curtis
Executive Producer -
Thom Conroy
Dialogue Coach -
Burt Lancaster
Executive Producer -
James Wong Howe
Director of Photography -
Harold Hecht
Executive Producer -
Elmer Bernstein
Original Music Composer -
Ernest Lehman
Screenplay
-
Nutshell 6/23/2021 3:58:38PM
A better title might be The Sad Stench of Desperation. Was Burt Lancaster ever better than in this riveting late-fifties noir from director Alexander Mackendrick? That's a tough question. But it's a no-brainer that Tony Curtis' performance here is top-level craft at its best (as in The Boston Stangler). The supporting cast also turns in some beautiful work, notably Susan Harrison and Martin Milner. This uncomfortable story breaks many rules and comes out the better for it. The jazzy score is perfect, setting the film's nervous tone and fitting the period like a glove. A totally unique and daring film-noir for the period, and one of my all time favorites.
Charles Jordan
Man at Hot Dog Stand (uncredited)Hans Moebus
Patron at 21 (uncredited)Tony Curtis
Sidney FalcoJohn Fiedler
Hot Dog Stand Counterman (uncredited)Burt Lancaster
J.J. HunseckerJoseph Leon
Joe Robard (uncredited)James Turley
Check Man (uncredited)David White
Otis Elwell (uncredited)