After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 11 wins & 13 nominations total
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Summary
Featured reviews
After playing witness to a routine gangland shooting, two penniless Chicago musicians, Joe and jerry decide it is the perfect opportunity, to remain safe and get paid a easy buck when they decide to take up residence in an all girl band heading to Florida, crossed-dressed as Josephine (Tony Curtis) and Daphne (Jack Lemmon). But with the only simple aim of getting paid and avoiding the mob, things soon get a little more tricky when a ditsy singer named Sugar (Marilyn Monroe) captures the heart of' Josephine' and a eccentric playboy millionaire falls for 'Daphne'.
Some Like It Hot is one of those rare occasions, where everyone involved is at the very peak of their powers. Billy Wilder's directing is subtle but instrumental in loading every scene with comedic material ready to pop out like a wound up jack in the box. The writing is excellent, it constantly moves at a furious pace. Imagine Usain bolt on roller blades with jet pack attached to his back, and still that's not even as fast as how the dialogue rips through every scene. People may say that the comedy is too high concept, but for me that's the very reason it's so damn funny , as well a begin genius, because it means that the jokes will stand the test of time and span all generations because it's so easy to understand. Anyway who likes having jokes explained to them? No one!
But you can't talk about Some Like It Hot, without mentioning Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, who were absolutely perfect for their roles, each adding a feeling of assuredness to theirs, as well as bucket full's of originality with every facial expression as well as every line. Initially I was not convinced by Marilyn Monroe, as I felt she was slightly overrated, but in her role as Sugar, she brings a lot of composure to the role adding balance to the high energy of Tony and Jack, but still getting her laughs not through straight jokes but by simply being able to deliverer every air headed line with great delivery and timing. Whilst still being able to remain sweet, helpless and innocent, even as she plunges picks into a solid cube of ice with great fury, as she talks about her weakness for Saxophone players.
Some Like It Hot it like a magician of comedy, you never know what to expect next, as with every new scene you so excitedly anticipate what piece of comedic magic it will pull out of its sleeve. For me Some Like It Hot is the funniest comedy film I have ever seen, even though it is almost 55 years old, its comedy is still so accessible and funny too!
The acting here is fantastic, all actors, even Monroe are on top form.
The direction by Wilder is superb, the guy's style in this picture is perfect. He directed this film in a very clever way, by using one camera for the majority of the scenes, he could easily edit the film together without studio interference.
The script is well written. The dialogue between Lemmon and Curtis is beautifully balanced.
Monroe is just too hot for the screen in this picture. Although, Monroe had major off-screen problems (83 takes to get things right) she is fantastic on-screen. She may not have the best lines, but what the heck! She plays the role very well.
Overall, this is awesome, it really is.
The work of the three participants in center is truly great; Marylin Monroe is at her most sexy and charming, Tony Curtis' brilliant control and Jack Lemmon is truly priceless at his peak. The movie paces fantastically throughout opening scenes of Chicago, onto the train-ride (features fantastically funny moments of brilliant comedy timing) and arriving at the hotel in Florida, and the situations that occurs with the band, with playboy Osgood Fielding III, Marylin Monroe and the mafia. And Billy Wilder shows his talent with keeping such a sparkling screenplay brilliantly paced and edited, never rushing itself - and Wilder sneaks in some fine moments of noir with the Chicago-gangsters brutality and cruelness. And the movie is a altogether different experience as a comedy than anything before it, the absurdity and quirkiness of Curtis and Lemmon in a transvestite-comedy is fantastically funny, and the final dialog between Osgood Fielding and Daphne/Jerry seemingly came out of the blue, and surprised me just as much today as it did back in 1959. Some Like It Hot is nothing less than a must-see in comedy, and cinema history.
Sugar is one of Monroe's most loved and memorable character... She presents herself as a sensitive woman quick to feel compassion or affection, sensual and readily impressionable which is Sugar Kane... It was her greatest role and certainly her greatest film...
The film opens in 1929 Chicago during Prohibition, where Spats Colombo (George Raft) and his gang gun down seven men in a car garage A couple of small-time Jazz musicians witness it and flee
To avoid the mob, Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) disguise themselves as women and attach themselves to an all-girl band Joe calls himself Josephine and Jerry calls himself Daphne
The orchestra takes a train to play an engagement in Florida... On board, the two men have a hard time keeping cool with all the beautiful girls around, especially during a late-night pajama party in a Pullman sleeper Needless to say, Joe falls in love with the sensual Sugar (Marilyn Monroe), a luscious ukulele player and singer with the troupe
Once in Florida, Jerry meets a really wealthy bachelor Osgood Fielding (Joe E. Brown).
Of course, Jerry is still dressed as Daphne, and the seven time divorcée proceeds to pursue Daphne Joe wants to romance Sugar but knows that he needs a wealthy front
The boys think they are safe until the gangsters arrive at the same Miami hotel to attend a gangsters' convention
Marilyn sang three songs in the film: "I'm Through with Love," "I Wanna Be Loved By You," and "Running Wild."
The movie's closing line is one of the most celebrated in movie history The film won an Oscar for Best Costume Design and was nominated for six Academy Awards
Irresistibly funny this black-and-white shot comedy is a definite must-see!
Lemmon and Curtis turn in admirable performances both as Joe and Jerry, and as Josephine and Daphne. Tony Curtis does Lemmon one better by creating a third identity, "Junior", in order to woo Sugar Kane (Monroe).
Tying the pair's story into the Chicago Valentine's Day Massacre, where a gang war spilled over into a parking garage, leaving a number of people lined up against the wall and shot, is a deft touch (though the serious tone of these gang sequences contrasts sharply with the bulk of the movie).
The movie does an excellent job building the far-fetched stakes of the movie ever-higher, from their finding refuge from vengeful gangs in a women's jazz band, to their showdown in the Florida hotel, to the eventual revealing of Curtis' and Lemmon's identities. The movie's surprisingly suggestive and risque content is at odds with the time frame of the movie, and even with the period of the movie's creation. The many smart double-entendres and plays on words are very well-written, and alternate between lowbrow and highbrow comedy,
The films only fault might be a couple of overlong musical numbers, performed either by the whole band or soloed by Sugar Kane. Though to be expected in a Marilyn Monroe film, these musical acts are literal "show stoppers" that bring the comedic momentum of the film to a screeching halt. However, it is easy to over look these minor defects in the movie as a whole, because by and large it is quite funny no wonder it s considered a classic and after all, "nobody's perfect".
Did you know
- TriviaYears after the film's release, a movie reviewer asked Tony Curtis why his "Josephine" was so much more feminine than Jack Lemmon's "Daphne." Curtis explained he was so scared to be playing a woman (or a man pretending to be one) that his tightly wound body language could be read as demure and shy, traditionally feminine traits, whereas Lemmon, who was completely unbothered, and "ran out of his dressing room screaming like the Queen of the May," kept much more of his masculine body language.
- GoofsEarly in the movie, Joe talks about the Brooklyn Dodgers, a name not officially used until 1932. From 1914 to 1931 the Brooklyn baseball team was the Robins, not the Dodgers. However, the Dodgers had been an unofficial nickname since 1895, and the World Series program from 1920 even referred to them as the Dodgers instead of the Robins.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Jerry: Oh no you don't! Osgood, I'm gonna level with you. We can't get married at all.
Osgood: Why not?
Jerry: Well, in the first place, I'm not a natural blonde.
Osgood: Doesn't matter.
Jerry: I smoke! I smoke all the time!
Osgood: I don't care.
Jerry: Well, I have a terrible past. For three years now, I've been living with a saxophone player.
Osgood: I forgive you.
Jerry: [tragically] I can never have children!
Osgood: We can adopt some.
Jerry: But you don't understand, Osgood! Ohh...
[Jerry finally gives up and pulls off his wig]
Jerry: [normal voice] I'm a man!
Osgood: [shrugs] Well, nobody's perfect!
[Jerry looks on with disbelief as Osgood continues smiling with indifference. Fade out]
- Alternate versionsVideo version contains extended exit music after the film.
- ConnectionsEdited into Vida conyugal sana (1974)
- SoundtracksRunnin' Wild
(1922) (uncredited)
Music by A.H. Gibbs
Lyrics by Joe Grey and Leo Wood
Played during the opening credits
Played by the girls on the train and Performed by Marilyn Monroe
Performed also a capella by Tony Curtis
Gene Cipriano (tenor sax for Tony Curtis) and Alton Hendrickson (ukulele for Marilyn Monroe)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Una Eva y dos Adanes
- Filming locations
- Hotel del Coronado - 1500 Orange Avenue, Coronado, California, USA(Seminole Ritz Hotel)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,883,848 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $208,786
- Runtime2 hours 1 minute
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1