MovieChat Forums > Sweet Smell of Success (1957) Discussion > why did they make it brother and sister?

why did they make it brother and sister?

posted 14 years ago by richard-2266
5 replies | jump to latest

As we know J J Hunsecker is based on Walter Winchell.
I understand Winchell was outrageously controlling towards his daughter.
I dont know why the filmmakers changed it to a brother and sister relationship.
I feel this made it less believable. We all know how a monstrous parent can
totally dominate and control a child, even when the child has become an
adult. A brother I feel would be less intimidating and easier to shake off.
Do you guys agree?

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] franzkabuki 14 years ago

To make it less obvious who´s his character based on and to dodge some bullets from that direction? Although, apparently, it ended up being obvious enough anyway. But yeah there seemed to be a good deal of Tony Montana in Hunsecker with his sister obsession. What a wonderfully sleazy turn by Lancaster - as well as Curtis; definitely some of their career best performances (for Curtis perhaps THE best - although he was also great in The Boston Strangler).

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[–] ciocio-2 14 years ago

To have Hunsecker lusting after his own daughter would have gone more than a bit too far in 1957. Brother-sister was pushing things, but worked well--really creepy, but just able to get through.

[–] pturman-929-979676 14 years ago

My guess is either the filmakers didn't think Lancaster was convincingly old enough to have a grown-up daughter or Lancaster's vanity didn't want his character to be thought of as old enough to have a grown-up daughter.

[–] toshguy 13 years ago

I agree with what pturman-929-979676 wrote about Burt's vanity. After all, this is a "Hecht, Hill and Lancaster" production and he obviously had a lot of pull on it. Burt was probably still trying to pass of as 34 instead of 44 because he had his image to keep up. I think he looked his age in this movie (it's not just the glasses) and I thought he definitley looked more like a father next to Susan Harrison than a big brother. For a similar instance, check out Warlock (1959) with Richard Widmark where he plays a big brother of a kid barely out of his teens and it looks as awkward as in Sweet Smell of Success.

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