Some Like It Hot (1959)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Robert Thoeren (story) and
Michael Logan (story) ...

Release Date:

29 March 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Family | Music | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The movie too HOT for words!

Plot:

When two musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.

Plot Keywords:

Band | Musician | Yacht | Witness | Massacre

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Marilyn Monroe	...	Sugar Kane Kowalczyk
Tony Curtis	...	Joe - 'Josephine' / 'Junior'
Jack Lemmon	...	Jerry - 'Daphne'
George Raft	...	Spats Colombo
Pat O'Brien	...	Det. Mulligan
Joe E. Brown	...	Osgood Fielding III
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Little Bonaparte
Joan Shawlee	...	Sweet Sue
Billy Gray	...	Sig Poliakoff
George E. Stone	...	Toothpick Charlie
Dave Barry	...	Beinstock
Mike Mazurki	...	Spats' henchman
Harry Wilson	...	Spats' henchman
Beverly Wills	...	Dolores
Barbara Drew	...	Nellie

Also Known As:

Not Tonight, Josephine! (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Mexico:A | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #19281) | Brazil:Livre | USA:PG-13 (DVD version) | Finland:K-16 (1959) | Finland:S (1987) | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | France:-12 (original rating) | France:U (re-rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 (re-release) | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1989) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Coronado Beach, Coronado, California, USA

Company:

Ashton Productions

Trivia:

Tony Curtis's voice as Josephine was dubbed by Paul Frees (according to co-writer I.A.L. Diamond). Curtis confirmed it by stating the voice you hear as Josephine is a combination of his voice and Frees'. Curtis says he had trouble maintaining a high-pitched voice for an entire take.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Osgood tells Daphne that his mother sent him to Florida when the yearly "George White Scandals" opened. The film is set in February; the "Scandals" never opened earlier than June, and the 1929 review opened in September.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mulligan: All right, Charlie; that the joint?
Toothpick Charlie: Yes, sir.
Mulligan: Who runs it?
Toothpick Charlie: I already told you.
Mulligan: Refresh my memory.
Toothpick Charlie: Spats Columbo.
Mulligan: That's very refreshing; what's the password?
Toothpick Charlie: "I've come to Grandma's funeral." Here's your admission card.
[he gives Mulligan a mourning armband]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sapiches (1983)

Soundtrack:

Some Like It Hot

In this brilliant comedy, Marilyn was breathtakingly beautiful...

Any camera loved Marilyn the best… In all her films, Marilyn dominated any photographer not just because of her ability with a script but ceaseless attention to the camera... More than anyone else on the set, she knew the importance of her sex appeal…The 'fifties belonged to Marilyn, and in that decade it almost seemed as if the world belonged to her also…

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!