"Some Like It Hot"....Movie Classic! (1959)

After Comic

Well, Tony wanted to look like a millionaire, Jack came along as his financial adviser, and Marilyn turned out to be the only one who had planned ahead. Around here, a purse full of sandwiches beats an empty wallet in a fancy suit!

That dinner date is my little Bootleg Comics invention, but it borrows the spirit of Some Like It Hot (1959): big schemes, shaky disguises, and people trying to look more impressive than they really are. Billy Wilder’s movie follows two musicians who witness a gangland killing and hide in an all-woman band. Then Marilyn Monroe’s Sugar Kane makes keeping their secrets considerably harder.

Five things you might not know about Some Like It Hot

1. The studio wanted a bigger name than Jack Lemmon. United Artists pushed Wilder to consider a more established box-office star. He approached Frank Sinatra, but a meeting never materialized. Thankfully, we got Lemmon’s wonderfully frantic Jerry and Daphne.

2. Tony Curtis dreamed up that Cary Grant voice. According to co-writer I. A. L. Diamond, Curtis suggested imitating Grant’s speech for his phony millionaire character. That fancy voice was part of the act, just like the borrowed luxury!

3. Marilyn’s effortless performance took some difficult work. The AFI production history reports 47 takes for the simple line, “Where’s that bourbon?” The scene was eventually filmed with her back to the camera. You would hardly guess the trouble from her finished performance.

4. That Florida resort was actually in California. The Hotel del Coronado, near San Diego, supplied the glamorous hotel exteriors. Only the exterior scenes were filmed there; the convincing interiors were filmed elsewhere. Hollywood can change your vacation destination without moving your suitcase!

5. Jack’s maracas helped protect the punchlines. Wilder had Lemmon shake them between lines during the scene where Daphne announces an engagement to a millionaire. Those pauses gave audiences room to laugh without missing the next joke. Even the silliness had careful timing behind it.

That’s what I enjoy about this trio: Tony keeps the scheme going, Jack makes the complications funnier, and Marilyn gives the whole thing warmth. Now settle in for Some Like It Hot in the player below. And if anybody promises you a millionaire’s dinner, you might want to bring a sandwich.

Oh, and take a look at the classic Marilyn Monroe Some Like It Hot coffee mug in the sidebar—a little nostalgia for yourself, or a gift for another classic-movie fan.

BOOTLEG COMIC THEATER / SOME LIKE IT HOT

Tap the picture for BJ’s introduction, followed by the movie.