Some Like It Hot is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, and Nehemiah Persoff in supporting roles. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on one by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan from the 1935 French film Fanfare of Love.
The film tells the story of two musicians who witness a mob hit and flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.
Some Like It Hot was produced without approval from the Motion Picture Production Code (Hays Code). The code had been gradually weakening in its scope since the early 1950s, due to greater social tolerance for taboo topics in film, but it was enforced until the mid-1960s. The overwhelming success of Some Like It Hot is considered one of the reasons behind the retirement of the Hays Code.
The film is considered one of the best comedies ever made and has received critical acclaim. It was voted into the Library of Congress's National Film Registry of Greatest American films in 1989 by the National Film Preservation Board. In 2000, it was installed in the Producers Guild of America's Hall of Fame. The movie was ranked Number 6 in the British Film Institute members' list of the top 30 films of all time, compiled in 1983.
Cast
Full Cast of "Some Like it Hot" (1959):
Main Cast:
- Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane Kowalczyk
- Tony Curtis as Joe / Josephine / Shell Oil Junior
- Jack Lemmon as Jerry / Daphne
- George Raft as Spats Colombo
- Pat O'Brien as Detective Mulligan
Supporting Cast:
- Joe E. Brown as Osgood Fielding III
- Nehemiah Persoff as Little Bonaparte
- Joan Shawlee as Sweet Sue
- Billy Gray as Sig Poliakoff
- George E. Stone as Toothpick Charlie
- Dave Barry as Bienstock
- Mike Mazurki as Spats' Henchman
- Harry Wilson as Spats' Henchman
- Beverly Wills as Dolores
- Barbara Drew as Nellie
- Edward G. Robinson Jr. as Johnny Paradise
- Sam Bagley (uncredited) as Minor Role
It is worth noting that the above cast list is for the original 1959 film. As of 2023, there have been various stage adaptations of Some Like It Hot, including a Broadway musical that premiered in 2022. The cast of the musical includes Christian Borle, J. Harrison Ghee, and Adrianna Hicks in the lead roles.
Director: Billy Wilder
Writer: Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond
Box office gross: $1,176,786
Release date: March 19, 1959