The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Comedy · Romance · 1967
A young but bright former window cleaner rises to the top of his company by following the advice of a book about ruthless advancement in business.
Movie details
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
“Nothing Succeeds Like "Succeed" ! !”
1967 Comedy · Romance 2h 1m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.7 / 10
Community rating
A young but bright former window cleaner rises to the top of his company by following the advice of a book about ruthless advancement in business.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Little Italy
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How to Marry a Millionaire
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That Touch of Mink
Comedy · 1962
Cathy Timberlake is en route to a job interview when a car transporting businessman Philip Shayne covers her in mud. He sends his assistant, Roger, to apologize, but upon meeting Cathy, Roger knows that she would be a suitable match for his boss. Despite their mutual attraction, Cathy and Philip want different things. Philip wants a fling, while Cathy wants a marriage. As they travel to exotic locales, their differing motivations are put to the test.
The Barkleys of Broadway
Comedy · 1949
Josh and Dinah Barkley are a successful musical-comedy team, known for their stormy but passionate relationship. Dinah feels overshadowed by Josh and limited by the lighthearted musical roles he directs her in. So she decides to stretch her skills by taking a role in a serious drama, directed by another man.
The Tender Trap
Music · 1955
A young actress flirts demurely with a swinging Manhattan bachelor who thinks he has it made.
Hello, Dolly!
Comedy · 1969
Dolly Levi is a strong-willed matchmaker who travels to Yonkers, New York in order to see the miserly "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder. In doing so, she convinces his niece, his niece's intended, and Horace's two clerks to travel to New York City.
You've Got Mail
Comedy · 1998
Book superstore magnate Joe Fox and independent book shop owner Kathleen Kelly fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet—both blissfully unaware that he's trying to put her out of business.
Watching the Detectives
Comedy · 2007
Neil, a self-proclaimed film geek and owner of Gumshoe video, has always been content to live vicariously through his favorite films noir. But when he meets Violet, a real-life femme fatale, his mundane world gets turned upside down and the line between reality and the movies quickly begins to blur.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
David Swift
Written by
David Swift
Robert Morse
Finch
Michele Lee
Rosemary
Rudy Vallee
J. B. Biggley
Scooter Teague
Bud Frump
Maureen Arthur
Hedy
John Myhers
Bratt
Carol Worthington
Lucille Krumholtz
Court is in session
Put How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.