Should I Watch..? 'Some Like It Hot' (1959)

What's the big deal?

Some Like It Hot is a romantic comedy film released in 1959 that was directed and co-written by Billy Wilder. Based on the 1935 French film Fanfare Of Love, the film sees two musicians forced into going on the run and dressing in drag in order to blend in with an all-female music band. The film stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft and Joe E. Brown. The film was released without the approval of the US censorship board (widely known as the Hays Code) due to its themes but the film's success with audiences and critics helped to lead to the eventual reform of the code into the Motion Picture Association (MPA) rating system currently used. The film received a total of six Academy Award nominations, winning one, and is frequently cited as one of the greatest films of all time. It has also been the subject of Bollywood and TV remakes as well as a Broadway adaptation.

Unmissable

What's it about?

In Prohibition-era Chicago, sharp-dressed gangster "Spats" Columbo operates an illegal speakeasy behind the façade of a funeral home. However, after a tip-off, the police successfully raid the joint and two musicians, saxophonist Joe and bass player Jerry, are among those who manage to escape the feds. Attempting to lay low, the pair of friends stumble across Spats' violent retribution as his men gun down those responsible. In fear for their lives, Jerry and Joe flee the scene and desperately take on a job offered to them by their agent - a touring company is due to depart for Florida and in need of their talents. The only problem is that it's an all-female troupe so Jerry and Joe find themselves dressing in drag and joining up.

Appalled at their circumstances, the two of them are able to successfully pass themselves off as their female alter egos "Daphne" and "Josephine". But things get complicated when they both fall for ukulele player and singer Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk, whose place in the band is under threat due to her abuse of alcohol. As they arrive in Florida, the two of them find themselves struggling to maintain their cover as "Josephine" decides to pursue Sugar with the help of another disguise while "Daphne" has to fend off the relentless attention of retired millionaire Osgood.

Trailer

What's to like?

Wilder's career spanned a number of decades and genres but few of his films were as perfectly complete as Some Like It Hot, a film that feels years ahead of its time. Compared to the only other Wilder film I've had the pleasure to watch (the satirical film noir Sunset Boulevard), this film bursts into life with so much energy that it takes your breath away. Dialogue is beautifully written and delivered by a cast fully committed to the project. It's easy to imagine how damaging these roles may have been to Curtis and Lemmon but the two of them are extraordinary, throwing themselves wholesale into the film with bravery and comic brilliance. Lemmon especially feels game for anything and the scene where he's overflowing with joy after spending a night in the company of Osgood is one of many genuinely funny moments in the film.

But against all the odds, the film belongs to Marilyn. Her well-reported backstage issues were coming to a head at this point and according to reports, struggled to perform when required. But her performance is incredible - even after all these years, I cannot think of a single movie star (male or female) who brought such raw sexual charisma to the screen and in this film, she's absolutely dynamite. Her role may play into the 'dumb blonde' stereotype but she still nails the part, looking like the knock-out she was. But the film benefits from some solid casting throughout. Raft plays into his habit of playing gangsters to good effect although he doesn't get quite enough screen time for me but Brown's hopelessly smitten retiree is fabulously entertaining as well, even if the character hasn't dated that well. The film has a great pace and remains consistently funny throughout and is just a class act from start to finish. It's a proper farce in the way that modern films can't seem to manage these days.

Fun Facts

• Curtis and Lemmon spent some time walking around the studio in their female costumes and even practised putting their makeup on in ladies' restrooms. When nobody complained, they knew they could pull it off and a scene was included in the film reflecting this.
• Monroe's contract stipulated that her films had to be shot in colour but Wilder eventually managed to convince her to be filmed in black-and-white. There was a very good reason for this decision, though - filming in colour made the makeup worn by Curtis and Lemmon to look green on screen!
• Jerry Lewis was originally offered the part of Jerry / Daphne but turned it down. After Lemmon picked up his Academy Award nomination for the part, Lewis claimed that Lemmon sent him a box of chocolates every year as a thank you. Lewis later claimed to have regretted his decision. Wilder wanted Frank Sinatra for the role but he failed to show up for a lunch to discuss it.
• Raft passes a young gangster who is flipping a coin and asks him where he learned "a cheap trick" like that. Raft's most famous role was one that Raft famously used in the 1932 version of Scarface.

What's not to like?

What indeed? Marilyn doesn't have as many songs as I would have liked and the final line, which has since become legendary and I won't spoil here, makes the film's closing sequence feel a little underwhelming if you're familiar with it. But finding faults in a film like Some Like It Hot feels mean-spirited and frankly unnecessary. I guess it's just a matter of taste for some people - I know some will not like this because it's in black-and-white, for example. It's like some hailing films like The Room as great comedies because they exist in that rarefied so-bad-it's-good dimension. I don't have that particular mindset, unfortunately. But I do recognise quality when I see and I see it here.

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There is a chance that some of the more topical references may be lost on more modern viewers. Remember that the film is set almost a century ago at this point, for an audience in the late 1950s. So it's entirely possible that the film's nods to things like the Great Depression may fly over the heads of contemporary audiences but that isn't a fault with the film, is it? This is one of those rare occasions where I'm drawing a blank for this section.

Should I watch it?

Unless the thought of watching men dressed in women's clothing is morally upsetting to you, there is no real reason not to watch Some Like It Hot. Still remarkably funny and elevated by some stunning performances, Wilder's timeless farce remains an essential watch for any fan of cinema. It's not perfect but it is as close as you're going to get.

Great For: cinephiles, classic movie nights, inspiring drag artists

Not So Great For: Christian extremists, Republicans, narrow-minded bigots, the Deep South

What else should I watch?

Despite the moral panic from some, it's a fact that drag performers have been appearing on screen since the birth of cinema. And while Some Like It Hot may be the most popular film featuring drag, it has been the subject of numerous films before and since. Arguably the first film to give it proper prominence was 1949's comedy I Was A Male War Bride, where Cary Grant (who was imitated by Curtis in this film) plays a French Army Captain cross-dressing as a nurse. But later movies like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, La Cage aux Folles (later remade as The Birdcage) and especially Tootsie found considerable success with critics and audiences. What I find sad is that films like Mrs Doubtfire and The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert might struggle to find a audience in some communities these days after years of demonization although a sequel was recently announced for the latter.

Wilder's name has been associated with some of the most legendary films in Hollywood for years now. His 1944 film noir Double Indemnity is still regarded as a classic example of the genre, although it was robbed at the Academy Awards in each of its seven nominations. Sunset Boulevard is still a much loved satire of Hollywood itself with a timeless performance by Gloria Swanson. Stalag 17 was a successful adaptation of the stage play of the same name, The Seven Year Itch became an instant pop-culture classic with the now-iconic shot of Marilyn Monroe's skirt flying up around her and The Apartment reunited Wilder with I.A.L. Diamond and Lemmon together with Shirley MacLaine for yet another classic comedy of the era. His final film, 1981's comedy Buddy Buddy, was seen as an ignominious end to a glittering career and is better best forgotten but nothing can diminish Wilder's legacy as one of the best filmmakers Hollywood has ever seen.

Main Cast

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