A Composer’s Notes: Philip Glass and the Making of an Opera
Original post date: 22 May 1987
Rating: ✭✭✰✰
Minimalism.
Rating: ✭✭✰✰
Minimalism.
Sweet Smell of Success
Original post date: 14 April 2019 Rating: ✭✭✰✰ “I’d hate to take a bite outta you. You’re a cookie full of arsenic.” This 1957 poison pen letter to the world of journalistic arrogance and backstabbing scriveners was based on stories by Ernest Lehman, drawn from his experiences as a gofer for Walter Winchell and other gossip columnists. Lehman wanted to direct, but the producers instead brought in a more experienced helmer, Scottish Ealing veteran Alexander Mackendrick. Lehman withdrew because of a stomach illness, and Clifford Odets was brought in for rewrites of Lehman’s screenplay. The result is a darkly cynical portrait of a society in which powerful egos must be stroked, principles are for losers, and working gals could sure use a #MeToo movement. Tony Curtis plays sleazy publicist Sidney Falco with just enough of a hint of conscience—mainly reflected through concerned looks from his secretary, Sally (Jeff Donnell)—to hope he’ll eventually do the right thing—or at least not do t...
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