Thursday, October 13, 2011

Some Like It Hot(1959).


Some Like It Hot(1959). Directed by Billy Wilder. Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft.

The film was awarded an 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, Academy Award for Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

It won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Comedy. Marilyn Monroe won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in Musical or Comedy, and Jack Lemmon for Best Actor in Musical or Comedy.


Two struggling musicians, Joe and Jerry, witness a gang murder. When the Chicago gangster, "Spats", sees them, the two friends run for their lives and decide it is time to leave town. Finding a job, in a all woman band, they have to disguise themselves as women.


Calling themselves Josephine and Geraldine, they board a train headed for Florida. Joe and Jerry both become charmed by "Sugar Kane", the band's vocalist and ukulele player. Joe woos Sugar while wearing second disguise as a millionaire heir to Shell Oil, mimicking Cary Grant's voice perfectly.

Millionaire, Osgood Fielding III, woes Jerry in his Daphne disguise. One night, Osgood asks Daphne out to his yacht. Joe talks Daphne, into going on a date with Osgood while he goes on the yacht with Sugar. That night Osgooing proposes to Daphne who, is flattered, accepts, hoping he can receive a large settlement from Osgood after their wedding ceremony.


When the gangsters arrive at the same hotel, Spats and his gang see Joe and Jerry. After several humorous chases and witnessing Spats and his gang murdered, Jerry, Joe, Sugar, and Osgood escape to the millionaire's yacht.

Joe, thinks it is time to reveal his true identity to Sugar, telling her that she would be getting the "fuzzy end of the lollipop". Jerry, tries to break it off with Osgood, telling him that, he can "never have children." Osgood, still is determined to go through with the marriage. Finally, Jerry removes his wig and shouts, "I'm a man!", where Osgood says... "Well, no body's perfect."


Video: Train scene.




Fun Facts:

Billy Wilder referring to Marilyn Monroe while making the movie: "We were in mid-flight, and there was a nut on the plane." Indeed, Wilder publicly blasted Monroe for her behavior, and she was not invited to the wrap party.

The resort scenes were filmed entirely at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California. One reason why Billy Wilder chose this location was Marilyn Monroe's ongoing personal problems. He wanted a location where she could live on site and not have to be transported.

Tony Curtis has said that he asked Billy Wilder if he could imitate Cary Grant for his stint as the millionaire in the movie. Wilder liked it and they shot it that way. Apparently, Grant saw the parody of himself and stated, "I don't talk like that."

Marilyn Monroe was pregnant during the filming, as a result she looked considerably heavier. She had no known children and several miscarriages in her life. Due to her pregnancy, most of the publicity still photos were posed for by both Sandra Warner (who had an uncredited role as one of the band members) and Monroe's frequent stand-in Evelyn Moriarty with Monroe's head superimposed later.

The railroad passenger car that was used in this movie (Clover Colony) is now at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee where it can be used in excursion/local service.

When Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon first put on the female make-up and costumes, they walked around the Goldwyn Studios lot to see if they could "pass" as women. Then they tried using mirrors in public ladies rooms to fix their makeup, and when none of the women using it complained, they knew they could be convincing as women. There is a scene on the train recreating this moment.

Jerry Lewis was offered the role of Jerry/Daphne but declined because he didn't want to dress in drag. When Jack Lemmon received an Oscar nomination for the role that Lewis gave up, Lewis claims he sent him chocolates every year to thank him and now regrets not taking the part.


Monroe's Sugar, is very lovable, especially when she sings: Running Wild, I'm Through With Love and "boop-boop-a-doop" her signature song, "I Wanna Be Loved by You."

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, were tastefully, hilarious playing a couple of drag queens.


Now on Blu-Ray. Includes: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes How To
Marry A Millionaire River Of No Return There's No Business Like Show Business The Seven Year Itch Some Like It Hot The Misfits.

Joan Shawlee (1929 - March 22, 1987). Her best known roles were small roles in Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder films. Her most famous role was as, Sweet Sue in the 1959 comedy classic, Some Like It Hot, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon.

She also performed as Sylvia in the 1960 classic, The Apartment, which also starred Lemmon. She performed as Amazon Annie in the 1963 sex comedy, Irma La Douce, which starred Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.

She had a recurring role on TV in The Dick Van Dyke Show as Buddy's wife Pickles.

6 comments:

  1. This is one of my favorite films... I love Tony's take on Cary Grant.

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  2. One of my favorites as well. Definitely the best comedy ever.

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  3. Thank you for stopping by. I try and watch it everytime it is on TCM.

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  4. Wow! I've watched this movie a million times (okay, maybe a dozen) but I never knew the MM was pregnant during the making of it, nor that her publicity still photos were posed for by both Sandra Warner and Evelyn Moriarty. Thanks for such a great post!

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  5. Hi, Dawn - I could watch "Some Like it Hot" a million times and never tire of it. It's movie comedy at its height. I have two favorite movie-ending lines: William Demarest in Preston Sturges' "The Lady Eve" (!) - "Positively the same dame" and Jack Lemmon in "Some Like it Hot" - "Nobody's perfect." Pure genius. Billy Wilder made more than a few films that can be labeled 'masterpiece' - "Double Indemnity," "Sunset Blvd.," "Witness for the Prosecution" and "The Apartment" also come to mind - but, for me, "Some Like it Hot" is the one among them all that is flawless...

    I was a little surprised but so happy that you profiled the sublime Joan Shawlee - who never failed to deliver. I'd forgotten she played Buddy's wife Pickles on "Dick Van Dyke" - to perfection! Great post, Dawn!

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  6. Martin Turnbull, Thank you and thank you for stopping by. I was wondering.. because of Marilyn Monroe's pregnancy during filming, that might be the story behind the first picture I posted in this article.

    Hey Eve, Thank you. You listed some of my favorite movies, that I could watch a million times.. I did not realize that I was a big Billy Wilder fan, until last year.

    I decided to spotlight Joan Shawlee, after reading she performed in so many films with Jack Lemmon.

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