The seedy, hand-to-mouth, day-to-day scramble in the life of a press agent in New York City seems an unlikely setup for a cruel and bitter piece of star-studded film noir.  But Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster are up to the challenge in director Alexander Mackendrick’s take on the hustle and corruption here at the very heart of conservative America’s most nostalgic tent pole.

If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be reviewing and discussing Rob Reiner’s This is Spinal Tap (1984).