For Tony Curtis, a warmup for SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS two films later; for writer/director Blake Edwards, a graduation piece after early lightweight efforts; this Rake’s Progress tale ought to be better known. (Hard to locate Stateside.) Curtis, in a role cut very close to the bone, is a natural as a streetwise Chicago punk, trying to reboot his life among the Country Club set at a MidWest summer resort.* But since busboys aren’t allowed to fraternize with the guests, he leads a double life, getting a foot in the door with Martha Hyer and wealthy family. She’s already engaged, but that’s of small concern, especially with help from Hyer’s fresh kid sister, Kathryn Grant, who finds the whole situation excitingly dangerous and something of a turn on. Meanwhile, trying to raise more than a ‘Detroit Roll’* for expenses, Tony skips work for high stakes poker with the nobs in a game run by professional gambler Charles Bickford. And though this all comes cashing down, Bickford’s impressed by the kid’s moxie, teaming up to open a mob funded private casino in Chicago. High life, love life, complications, comeuppance: it’s very entertaining stuff, and beautifully handled by Edwards (what pacing!), already showing uncanny accuracy in offbeat casting with a great comic turn by vet character actor Henry Daniell progressing from Tony’s officious resort boss to officious maitre d’ at Tony's shiny new private gambling salon in Chicago. A triumphant turn! Everyone equally good, even the bouncy Ms. Grant (really). Only Hyer comes up short, her chilly but fast to melt act short of the mark. Universal, expecting something special, assigned top lenser Russell Metty, no doubt unaware Edwards had a way of making just about any cinematographer look like a master.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: *Chances are the source novel was set in the Catskills and had more of a Jewish angle to it as the author was Leo Rosten of ‘Joys of Yiddish’ fame.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *‘Detroit Roll’: a big roll of bills held together with a rubber band, impressive looking, but actually all ONES with a couple of TENS on the outer layer so it looks like you’re carrying serious money when you’ve probably got about 43 bucks in there.
DOUBLE-BILL: As mentioned, SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS/'57 which pulls Curtis's striver out of sunshiny color and into b&w noir.
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