"Sweet Smell of Success" was first tested before its release, but the response was not good. Fans of Bernard Schwartz wanted to see him play the righteous handsome boy as always, so the scheming Sidney Farr Section did not buy it. McKendrick said he remembers seeing viewers "roll up their sleeves and pant legs, cross their hands and feet, disgusted by what was on the screen". Burt Lancaster fans were similarly unimpressed by their idol's performance, "feeling that the movie was too dull and talked too much". The film was a flop at the box office, with producer Hecht blaming his partner Hill for it. "Harold said to me the night of the audition, 'You know you're dragging our company down? We're going to lose millions of dollars on this movie,'" recalls Hill. "But Lancaster Blame it on Lehrman, who later recalled the incident saying: "Bert threatened me at a party after the test screening. He said, 'You didn't have to let it go, you could have let this be A better movie. I should have slapped you.' I replied, 'Go on, I'll just have some money.'"
When "Sweet Smell of Success" premiered in New York City on June 27, 1957 , critics responded to the film much better. " Time " that "through intense acting, tight-oriented . superb photography and, most importantly, unparalleled dialogue," the film's "dramatic height with a very large increase," and the magazine " The New York City Herald also included "Sweet Smell of Success" on its list of the ten best films of 1957. The film's reputation has also grown over time, with New York City Magazine's David Dunby calling it "the spiciest, best" of all New York City films because it's "better than anything I know of." "Other films better capture the "news vibe of Times Square and the big city".
According to 45 review articles collected on Rotten Tomatoes, 44 of them gave a positive rating of "Fresh", with a "Freshness" of 98% and an average score of 8.7 out of 10. A total of 5 professional review articles were collected on Metacritic , another comprehensive review collection site , and scored 100 points (full score). While the director's directing of the actors and his mastery of the shot was extraordinary at the time, all modern critics have praised are the film's lines. In the New York City Times, AO Scott praised the high-profile street slang that "no real New Yorker has ever said it, but every real New Yorker would like to be able to say it". Andrew Sarris of The New York City Watch wrote, "The biggest motivator for watching this movie is the witty, poignant and authentic dialogue, which you'll never get off screen in this age of stunt-illiterate people. heard it".
In 1993, "Sweet Smell of Success" was included in the list of protected films by the National Film Preservation Committee under the National Film Registration Department by the Library of Congress for its "remarkable achievements in culture, history and aesthetics" . Time named the film one of the "100 Best Movies of All Time". In 2002, the musical of the same name co-produced by Marvin Hamlisch , Craig Canelia and John Gehrer was released; in 2003, the American Film Institute selected AFI's 100 Best Screen Heroes and Demons in the 100-year film history, J.J. Hansek is ranked 35th on the list of demons in it. The film has also gained the status of a cult film because of its dialogue . Released in 1982, the comedy directed by Barry Levinson, in which the director pays homage to a character who constantly wanders around the film, speaking lines from "Sweet Smell of Success."
