SOME LIKE IT HOT: CONSTANT CLASSIC

It’s a new year so why not ring it in with an old movie? Criterion, a company that specializes in both foreign and classic films, has just released their edition of what is considered one of the funniest movies ever made. Thank goodness that the film lives up to that title. The movie was a box office smash, helped propel the career of Jack Lemmon, solidified that of Tony Curtis and ranks among the best known films of Marilyn Monroe. The movie is the 1959 film SOME LIKE IT HOT.

If for some reason you’ve never seen the film it tells the story of two musicians, saxophone playing Joe (Curtis) and stand-up bass player Jerry (Lemmon) working in prohibition Chicago in February, 1929. Looking for work they go to borrow a friend’s car only to witness a group of mobsters gunned down by another gang led by “Spats” Colombo (George Raft). Escaping with their lives and looking for a way out of town they take the only job possible.

Unfortunately for them that means performing in an all-girl band. To do so the pair dress up in drag and change their names to Josephine and Daphne. Both of them are immediately drawn to the singer in the band, Sugar Kane Kowalczyk (Monroe). But impersonating women leaves them no way of acting on their impulses.

The band is on the way to Florida to perform there at a resort getting the boys far from Chicago. Sugar has her mind made up and shares her hopes with Josephine/Joe. She wants to steer clear of sex players she’s fallen for in the past and find a rich young man who wears glasses and reads The Wall Street Journal. Josephine tells her she should have no problem.

The band arrives at the resort and Daphne/Jerry catches the eye of a millionaire named Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown). She/he tells him to buzz off but he doesn’t take no for an answer. He continues to pursue her…er…him…er…her like a dog attracted to a bone. While this is going on, Joe ends up dawning a pair of glasses and a yachtsman’s outfit with newspaper in hand as he hits the beach and gets Sugar’s attention. Okay you can see where this is going, right?

The film was filled with sexual innuendo and snappy dialogue that adds to the physical comedy on display. So much so that the film was produced without the approval of the Motion Picture Production Code. While it seems tame today it still garner’s a snicker or two from younger viewers. When released in 1959 it was a huge hit and is considered one of the films that helped end the Hays Code that was the basis for censorship in films.

But does the movie hold up today? Absolutely. All due to that unique combination of items that rarely come together to create comedy genius. First was the script as composed by the famed pair of Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond. The two had a stream of hits together and this one was just another and also won critical praise. Then you have the fact that Wilder was directing. Finding a director in Hollywood who made as many famed films as Wilder is nearly impossible. A look at the films he made online is like reading half the list of the top 50 recommended films of all time.

But that’s behind the scenes. What about onscreen? Curtis was on a roll at the time having just had hits with SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS and THE DEFIANT ONES. Monroe was still gorgeous but on the outs having just played out her personal life in public issues in her marriage and in need of a good film. Unfortunately only two more films followed this one before her untimely death. And Lemmon’s career was just on the cusp having had several fantastic supporting roles. This movie would move him to star status. All of these three worked so well together onscreen that it made the movie work. It has to be seen to understand just how wonderful it is.

I could go on about the special items about the film but Criterion has done one better. They’ve included extras with this release that make it special and describe it in better detail. They include a making of featurette, Billy Wilder on THE DICK CAVETT SHOW, interviews with Lemmon and Curtis, a radio interview with Monroe, a short on the costumes for the movie and more. Best of all they’ve restored the movie in 4k from the original 35mm negative for a perfect picture.

Now is your chance to see this classic comedy in the best way possible. It’s not one you will want to rent but one to add to your collection to be enjoyed over and over. And for those who’ve never seen it now is your chance to see why it’s rated as highly as it is. I know I’ll be watching it again.

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