Trivia / Sweet Smell of Success

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• Acclaimed Flop: The film had very little backing by the studio, almost stealth releasing it. Years later, it was recognized by Sight and Sound as a forgotten masterpiece, and its reputation grew from there.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Tony Curtis fought for the role of Sidney Falco, ignoring warnings that it could harm his career.
• The Danza: Susan Harrison plays the character of Susan Hunsecker. Even their initials are the same.
• Deleted Role: At the Turner Classic Movies 2010 Classic Film Festival, screenwriter and actor Buck Henry revealed that he was an extra in the scene when Falco gets his hand caught in the door. Unfortunately, said Henry, he ended up on the cutting room floor.
• Executive Meddling: Falco does a Heel–Face Turn at the end, threatening to expose the dirty cop. He gets beaten up for it.
• Playing Against Type: Tony Curtis, who became famous with heroic roles. At the preview screening of the movie, his fans were pretty disappointed. This was also one of the few times Burt Lancaster played a villain.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Orson Welles was to be casted as J. J. Hunsecker at one point. Frank Sinatra was also considered.
  • Robert Vaughn originally landed the part of Steve Dallas, but was drafted into the Army before he could film any footage.
  • After Ernest Borgnine tried to break his contract with Burt Lancaster's production company, Lancaster tried to force him to appear in this film as Frank D'Angelo, but Borgnine refused to do so.
• Writing by the Seat of Your Pants: Clifford Odets was hired on short notice to rewrite the script. As soon as he had finished writing a scene in his hotel room, it was rushed to the location for director Alexander Mackendrick to shoot. According to Burt Lancaster biographer Gary Fishgall, pages were distributed to the crew after they had been shot.

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