Voted by the American Film Institute as #1 on the list of the 100 Funniest Movies, this classic comedy burst upon the screen in 1959. Directed by Billy Wilder and completed three weeks ahead of schedule, the film sizzled with Marilyn Monroe, who never looked hotter on the outside, but inside was crumbling and spiraling toward her own tragic demise. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are hilarious as two musicians disguised as women seeking escape from gangsters after witnessing a mob hit in Chicago. The supporting cast is sterling, and includes Joe E. Brown as eccentric millionaire, Osgood Fielding III, George Raft as gangster, Spats Colombo, and Pat O’Brien as Detective Mulligan.
Fleeing Chicago to head south away from the cold and gangsters who wanted to see them cold, are Josephine and Daphne, aka Jerry and Joe. They get a job in an all woman’s band and for a while, feel safe in the sunshine and their new skins. Jack Lemmon received an Oscar nomination for his superb performance, which is no better illustrated than the scene in which he announces his engagement to Joe E. Brown and dances around the room with maracas.
There was much trouble on the set. Marilyn Monroe often held up production by refusing to leave her dressing room and arriving two to three hours late at the studio. One scene had to be shot 47 times. (“Where’s That Bourbon?” was the line, and Billy Wilder finally had the line written on a blackboard so that she could get it right.) There was no love lost between Wilder and Monroe, and Marilyn was not invited to the final cast party.
But for first-class fun and entertainment, no film can top Some Like It Hot.
What are some of YOUR favorite moments from the movie?