Editing Tony Curtis (section)

===Major star===
Curtis graduated to larger projects when he was cast as a co-star of [[Burt Lancaster]] and [[Gina Lollobrigida]] in [[Hecht-Lancaster Productions]]' ''[[Trapeze (film)|Trapeze]]'' (1956). It was one of the biggest hits of the year. Curtis and Leigh formed their own independent film production company, [[Curtleigh Productions]], in early 1955.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elmira Advertiser from Elmira, New York on May 28, 1955 · 7|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/276730527/|access-date=June 28, 2021|website=Newspapers.com|date=May 28, 1955 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Mirror News from Los Angeles, California on August 6, 1955 · 19|url=http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/693900579/|access-date=June 29, 2021|website=Newspapers.com|date=August 6, 1955 |language=en}}</ref>

Curtis made a Western, ''[[The Rawhide Years]]'' (1957), was a gambler in ''[[Mister Cory]]'' (1957) and a cop in ''[[The Midnight Story]]'' (1957). Lancaster asked for him again, to play scheming press agent Sidney Falco in ''[[Sweet Smell of Success]]'' (1957), starring and co-produced by Lancaster. The film was a box office disappointment, but Curtis, for the first time in his career, received sensational reviews.

Curtis starred alongside [[Kirk Douglas]] and [[Janet Leigh]] in ''[[The Vikings (film)|The Vikings]]'' (1958, produced by Douglas' [[Bryna Productions]]), which was a major box office hit.<ref name=":111">{{Cite news |title=The New Box Office Champ! |url=https://archive.org/details/variety211-1958-07 |format=Advertisement |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=2 July 1958 |page=[https://archive.org/details/variety211-1958-07/page/n17/mode/2up?q=curtis 18] |access-date=13 April 2024}}</ref> Curtis then co-starred with [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Natalie Wood]] in the war movie ''[[Kings Go Forth]]'' (1958),<ref name=":03">{{Cite news |title=Kings Go Forth |url=https://archive.org/details/variety211-1958-06 |department=Film Reviews |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=11 June 1958 |page=[https://archive.org/details/variety211-1958-06/page/n81/mode/2up 6] |access-date=13 April 2024}}</ref> before starring in ''[[The Defiant Ones]]'' the following year as a bigoted white escaped convict chained to a black man (played by [[Sidney Poitier]]). At the [[31st Academy Awards]], Curtis was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]] for his performance—losing to [[David Niven]] in ''[[Separate Tables (film)|Separate Tables]]''.<ref name="TCM">{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/20965/separate-tables#awards |title=Awards for Separate Tables |access-date=June 28, 2022|work=TCM}}</ref>

[[File:Monroe and Curtis in Some Like it Hot.JPG|thumb|{{center|Curtis with [[Marilyn Monroe]] in<br />''[[Some Like It Hot]]'' (1959)}}]]

Curtis and Janet Leigh then starred in [[Blake Edwards|Blake Edwards']] ''[[The Perfect Furlough]]'' (1958). He subsequently co-starred with [[Jack Lemmon]] and [[Marilyn Monroe]] in ''[[Some Like It Hot]]'' as well as Cary Grant in ''[[Operation Petticoat]]'' (1959).

Curtis and Leigh made one more film together ''[[Who Was That Lady?]]'' (1960), a comedy with [[Dean Martin]]. He and [[Debbie Reynolds]] then starred in ''[[The Rat Race]]'' (1960). He then started in a supporting role in ''[[Spartacus (film)|Spartacus]]'' (1960), before making two biopics: ''[[The Great Impostor]]'' (1961), directed by [[Robert Mulligan]], playing [[Ferdinand Waldo Demara]]; and ''[[The Outsider (1961 film)|The Outsider]]'' (1961), in which he played war hero [[Ira Hayes]]. He returned to epics with ''[[Taras Bulba (1962 film)|Taras Bulba]]'' (1962), co starring [[Yul Brynner]] and [[Christine Kaufmann]], who became Curtis's second wife.