'Some Like it Hot' (1959) Has Everything One Wants in a Comedy

The movie too HOT for words!

In 1929 Chicago, Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) are musicians looking for work. After witnessing the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, in which 'Spats' Colombo (George Raft) leads his branch of the mob in the killing of another branch and an undercover police officer, Joe and Jerry flee the Windy City and head for Florida disguised as girls, Josephine and Daphne, on an all-girl band gig in an effort to hide from the mob. The pair joins the band on the train to Florida and fall for 'Sugar Kane' Kowalczyk (Marilyn Monroe), the band's vocalist and ukulele player. Joe tries to seduce Sugar by pretending to be an oil tycoon named Junior and Jerry, as Daphne, is the target of a real millionaire, Osgood (Joe E. Brown). Joe has Daphne use Osgood's affection in order to pretend Osgood's yacht and gifts are actually his to impress Sugar. As if things were not hectic enough, the mob has a convention at the same hotel where they are staying and the pair must avoid capture by Colombo and his henchmen.

The unlikely pairing of Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon create a perfect comedy duo in the 1959 musical comedy, "Some Like It Hot," that also stars the sex icon of the era, Marilyn Monroe. The movie combines slapstick comedy, hilarious dialogue, great acting and an unforgettable story creating a true classic that is as funny today as it was in 1959.

Director Billy Wilder also worked on the screenplay with I.A.L. Diamond based on a story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan. Wilder is well known for his work on such classics as "The Bishop's Wife" (1947) with Cary Grant, "The Seven Year Itch" (1955) also with Marilyn Monroe and the original "Ocean's Eleven" (1960) with the Rat Pack. His productions often combine comedy with crime and romance, like this movie, which is definitely one of the best productions of any genre he has worked in.

The movie is a dark comedy that is reminiscent of the style of comedy portrayed in Frank Capra's masterpiece "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944) starring Cary Grant and Peter Lorre. It involves mobsters, guns and murder that are not to be taken seriously -- instead acting as catalysts for Joe and Jerry's situation. The focus is on the ensuing comedy and the viewers go along for the ride. It has a current rating of PG-13 due to sexual situations and some violence, which is tame by today's standards, but the cross-dressing was controversial in some areas at the time of its release.

The story is fast-paced and covers a lot of ground with a runtime of two hours. For the entire movie, viewers will not become bored. Every second of it serves a purpose and is hilariously funny, so viewers do not want to miss any of it. Some viewers consider the story to contain plot holes but they are more like fictional liberties taken purposely to boost the zany comedy of everything.

Film viewers, who have not seen this movie, should not be deterred from watching it due to it being in black and white because after a few minutes they will be so enthralled and laughing so much that they will forget it is from 1959. Filming was originally to be in color as per Marilyn Monroe's contract at the time stating that every movie she appeared in be in color but Wilder convinced her to allow it to be black and white due to the makeup used on Curtis and Lemmon taking on a green tint in color film.

The title, "Some Like It Hot," is in reference to a scene about halfway through the movie in which Junior asks Sugar if she plays "that fast music...jazz," Sugar replies, "Yeah! Real hot!", and Junior responds, "Well, I guess some like it hot. I personally prefer classical music." The title is in reference to this scene but it was probably also used as an attention grabber. The working title was "Not Tonight Josephine," which is also another line from the movie that might be in reference to Napoleon's response to Josephine. The title in Russia is "Only Girls Are Allowed In Jazz," which better describes the movie.

"Some Like It Hot" boasts an All-Star cast with the likes of Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, Joe Brown, George Raft, Edward G. Robinson Jr., Pat O'Brien and many others. Everyone in the cast works together perfectly on-screen to create a seamless comedy. The duo of Curtis and Lemmon are a perfect comedy team but were not the first choices for their respective parts -- other actors considered for the parts of Joe/Josephine and Jerry/Daphne included Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye and Bob Hope.

Pretty boy Tony Curtis, who was probably the biggest draw to this movie after Monroe, gives one of the best performances of his career as Joe/Josephine that is funny, emotional and spot on with how his character should react to the situations portrayed and his character's personality. His character is not the most charitable but it works in this film and makes it all the better. He did not receive an award for this movie but he should have, as his performance is every bit as good as that given by Jack Lemmon. While Jack Lemmon used his own voice as Daphne, Tony Curtis could not maintain the high-pitched voice of Josephine and his voice was partly dubbed by Paul Frees. As Junior, Curtis used his own voice in his impersonation of Cary Grant, to which Grant said, "I don't talk like that."

Funnyman Jack Lemmon gives a performance that is just as good as Curtis that earned him a Golden Globe for Best Actor. While he did not make the best-looking woman, he put his all into his alter ego of Daphne and his clumsy walk made his character all the more believable and funny; he even did his own female voice. He made his character likable, which perfectly complemented Curtis' tougher and dominant character of the duo.

Sex icon of the era, the gorgeous Marilyn Monroe, gave a terrific performance as Sugar, a character that was guileless, absent-minded and hilarious. She pulled double duty as both actor and singer with three big numbers including "Runnin' Wild," her infamous "I Wanna Be Loved by You," and "I'm Through With Love." Wilder cited problems working with Monroe who, at the time, was suffering with alcoholism as well as being pregnant during the filming. She looked a bit heavier, so most of her publicity photos were of Sandra Warner and Evelyn Moriarty with Monroe's head superimposed later.

Joe E. Brown deserves an honorable mention for his uproariously funny performance as the millionaire Osgood who was smitten with Lemmon's character, Daphne. He gives an over-the-top and exaggerated performance that really adds to the zaniness. It is too bad he did not earn many awards for his role.

The dialogue is pure genius with a great zinger every few moments. Some of it is so funny that it makes viewers laugh so much that they cry. The beauty of the dialogue is also that it is timeless and still stands up to today's standards. Few other movies, comedy or otherwise, keep everything moving quickly while maintaining a steady stream of high quality, relevant dialogue.

"Some Like It Hot" is also a musical comedy with plenty of jazzy numbers that complete the 1930's atmosphere. Marilyn Monroe provides vocals for her songs and the band is really top-notch.

The movie budget is estimated at $2,883,848 with a gross of $25,000,000 in the U.S., making this a very successful movie with or without considering inflation. In 1959, this was a phenomenal success and meaningful compared to today's big budget but quickly forgettable movies. "Some Like It Hot" is anything but forgettable and was instantly destined to be a classic.

"Some Like It Hot" won several award and received many nominations but probably should have earned a lot more than it did. It was awarded a 1959 Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black and White (Orry-Kelly) and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jack Lemmon), Best Art Direction Set Decoration, Black and White (Ted Haworth, Edward G. Boyle), Best Cinematography, Black and White, Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. It is fortunate that it was not shot in color because Ben-Hur (1959), which had almost a clean sweep at the 1959 Academy Awards, won Best Costume Design, Color, so "Some Like It Hot" probably would not have won any Academy awards. It fared better at the Golden Globes where it won awards for Best Motion Picture - Comedy, Best Actress in Musical or Comedy (Marilyn Monroe) and Best Actor in Musical or Comedy (Jack Lemmon).

Among other accolades, the movie topped several American Film Institute lists including #14 on "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies" published in 1998 and #1 on "AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs" published in 2000. "Some Like It Hot" paved the way for future cross-dressing comedies, many of which not surprisingly also made the "100 Laughs" list, with movies, such as "Tootsie" (1982) starring Dustin Hoffman took #2, "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993) starring Robin Williams #67 and "Victor, Victoria" (1982) starring Julie Andrews #76. Other movies with similar stories that deserve mentioning include "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar" (1995) starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo and "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" (1994) starring Hugo Weaving, Terrance Stamp, and Guy Pearce."

Once viewers see "Some Like It Hot," they will be instantly pulled into the craziness of Curtis and Lemmon, enthralled by the story, enamored with Monroe's innocence and beauty, entertained by the movie's many musical numbers and brought to tears by the slapstick comedy and dialogue. It simply has everything one wants in a comedy. People who have not seen this movie are encouraged to see this classic film comedy ASAP.

Rating: 5/5

Quotes

Jerry: Have I got things to tell you!
Joe: What happened?
Jerry: I'm engaged.
Joe: Congratulations. Who's the lucky girl?
Jerry: I am!

Jerry: Will you look at that! Look how she moves! It's like Jell-O on springs. Must have some sort of built-in motor or something. I tell you, it's a whole different sex!

Jerry: Now you've done it! Now you have done it!
Joe: Done what?
Jerry: You tore off one of my chests!

Joe: But, you're not a girl! You're a guy, and, why would a guy wanna marry a guy?
Jerry: Security!

Sig Poliakoff: You're the wrong shape. Goodbye!
Joe: What are you looking for - hunchbacks or something?
Sig Poliakoff: It's not the backs that worry me.

Jerry: I'm a man!
Osgood: Well, nobody's perfect!

Sources: Wikipedia, Filmsite.org