Introduction
Welcome to my corner! Last week, I shared my thoughts on the films Driving Miss Daisy and The Defiant Ones. This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film Some Like It Hot (another Tony Curtis film!).
Leading up to the Academy Awards/Oscars, the TCM TV channel paid homage to the award ceremony by broadcasting Oscar nominees and winners from February 1 to March 3. Some Like It Hot played on TCM on February 21 with other comedy nominees and winners.
Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee and Nehemiah Persoff in supporting roles. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on a screenplay by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan from the 1935 French film Fanfare of Love. The film is about two musicians (Curtis and Lemmon) during the Prohibition era who disguise themselves as women to escape Chicago mobsters they witnessed commit murder.
Some Like It Hot opened to critical and commercial success and it is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. The film received six Academy Awards nominations, including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, winning for Best Costume Design. In 1989, the Library of Congress selected it as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."
The Production Code had been gradually weakening in its scope since the early 1950s, owing to greater social tolerance for taboo topics in film, but it was enforced until the mid-1960s. The overwhelming success of Some Like It Hot is considered one of the reasons behind the retirement of the code.
Plot: After witnessing a Mafia murder, slick saxophone player Joe (Tony Curtis) and his long-suffering buddy, Jerry (Jack Lemmon), improvise a quick plan to escape from Chicago with their lives. Disguising themselves as women, they join an all-female jazz band and hop a train bound for sunny Florida. While Joe pretends to be a millionaire to win the band's sexy singer, Sugar (Marilyn Monroe), Jerry finds himself pursued by a real millionaire (Joe E. Brown) as things heat up and the mobsters close in.
Acting: Jack Lemmon played Jerry/Daphne, a bassist. I love Jack Lemmon. My family watches Grumpy Old Men at least once a year, usually more than that. I've seen many of his movies, and I haven't been disappointed yet. He's hilariously funny and easily steals the show despite starring alongside Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis. He was believable as a girl for the most part, but the voice is where it fell short for me. It was far too hoarse and throaty.
Tony Curtis played Joe/Josephine/Shell Oil Junior, a saxophone player. I've only seen a handful of Curtis' films, and none of them have been comedies. Before now, it would've been difficult for me to picture him in a comedic role, but he does pull it off. I actually think he pulled off "being a girl" better than Lemmon, mostly because of the voice. His girl voice was a lot more believable than Lemmon's.
Marilyn Monroe played Sugar "Kane" Kowalcyzk, a ukelele player and singer. This is the first Marilyn Monroe movie I've ever seen. I can't say I wasn't a little annoyed by the ditzy blonde bimbo cliche that was her character, but Monroe played it well. Although I haven't seen any of her other movies so far, I'd be willing to be that Sugar wasn't the only character she ever played that exuded these characteristics. It's honestly a shame.
Technical aspects: The majority of the film takes place in Florida, but it was actually filmed in California.
Music plays a big part in Some Like It Hot, not only in the soundtrack and as a part of the story, but also in the stylization of the movie itself. The movie is all about jazz musicians and the band, set in the 1920s during prohibition. The style reminds me of a speakeasy, as it should.
I wondered why the film was in black and white and not color like the DVD cover. Turns out it was because Curtis and Lemmon looked better in drag in black and white versus color. Hilarious! The lack of color doesn't take anything away from the film. It helps that the story takes place in the 1920s.
In the movie, Sugar was practically an alcoholic, but in real life, Monroe was addicted to pills which made her hard to work with. Apparently, she was often late to set and couldn't memorize her lines, averaging 35-40 takes for each line, so bad that Curtis and Lemmon even made bets on how many takes she would need.
Final Thoughts: Some Like It Hot was hilariously good! I had no doubts that it would be good. I'm sure I'll watch it again. It's too bad that Lemmon didn't win an award for his performance because he is golden! My favorite!
Where to watch it: Some Like It Hot is available to watch (according to Google) on the streaming services: Tubi, The Roku Channel and Pluto TV. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to.
That's it for this week! What were your thoughts? Feel free to share them with us! You can call us, email us, visit us at the office, leave us a comment or message on Facebook, or even mail us something. Keep the comments, suggestions, questions, submissions, etc. coming our way! We'd love to hear from you!
