Reviewed by Larry Gleeson in the course of the annual TCM 31 Days of Oscar
Some Prefer it Sizzling (1959), directed, co-written, and produced by Billy Wilder, a seven-time Oscar winner (with 21 Oscar nominations). Wilder is taken into account one essentially the most good and versatile filmmakers of the Classical Hollywood Period. His traditional movie noir. Double Indemnity (1944), received Wilder his first Oscar for Finest Director. On the set of Some Like It Sizzling, Wilder had his fingers full with Marilyn Monroe, a technique actor with a painstakingly sluggish course of. The 2 had labored collectively one time beforehand on The Seven Yr Itch (1955). Wilder vowed to by no means work with Monroe once more after Some Like It Sizzling. Tragically, Monroe would solely full yet one more movie earlier than her premature passing, The Misfits (1961). Regardless, the pair, together with a top-notch solid together with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, hit a house run with Some Like It Sizzling, broadly thought to be one of many best movies of all time.
The narrative revolves round two musicians, Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemon), who witness a mobster homicide, and flee Chicago, Illinois, disguised as girls in an all-female band, Candy Sue’s Society Syncopators. As the 2 are ready to board the prepare, Marilyn Monroe’s character, Sugar Cane, passes the 2 on the prepare platform. In a classical male gaze, the digicam shifts from a forty-five-degree angle of the 2 actors, wearing drag, to their eye line, a full-on, direct shot of Sugar Cane’s derriere. Including two steam blasts as Sugar walks and the 2 males following her swinging gait appears a reference the title of the movie. A superb portion of the movie is about on the shifting prepare with among the movie’s most comedic moments.
Life is wanting up for Joe, now generally known as Josephine, and Jerry, now generally known as Daphne. Each characters obtain extra consideration as girls than is comfy for both. But, each Curtis and Lemmon pull it off with impeccable comedic timing. Josephine and Daphne are each smitten with Sugar Cane. Josephine has a younger bell hop hitting are her for the rest of the movie. Daphne finally acquiesces and performs a wingman to Curtis’s pursuit of Sugar. Josephine is passing himself off to Sugar because the inheritor to Shell Oil. A wrench is thrown into their plans, nonetheless, when the mobsters arrive for a gathering. One other gangland killing happens forcing Shell, Jr., and Daphne to flee with Osgood. Sugar makes it into the boat as Osgood heads out to his parked yacht within the Miami harbor. Joe E. Brown, as millionaire, Osgood Fielding III, is relentless in his pursuit of Daphne. Whereas Daphne repeatedly objects, Osgood overcomes the objections and will get “the woman” in the long run. Shell, Jr reveals himself as Joe and wins over Sugar.
Some like It Sizzling was initially imagined as a star car for Tony Curtis as Joe, the struggling saxophonist and dogged women’ man. Nonetheless, when Marilyn Monroe was introduced in, Wilder crafted the position of Sugar Cane to suit Monroe’s persona. As fantastic and zany because the movie is, the lone Oscar was for Finest Costume Design (Orr Kelly), out of its six nominations. Whereas on the Seminole Ritz Carlton, Sugar performs, “I Need To Be Beloved By You” in essentially the most extravagant and titillating costume. The Assortment of Movement Image Costume Design describes the costume as:
“Fitted 1920’s fashion costume, with sheer cloth from the bust up, flesh coloured silk from bust down with extraordinarily low reduce, beaded closely at bust space, ornamented with gold sequins in a wash sample on silk areas with clear bead tassels, coronary heart formed minimize on at rear surrounded by purple beads and drops; swans down stole hooked up to chiffon backing.”
With a run time of two hours and one minute, Some Like It Sizzling is a curler coaster trip from begin to end. Lemmon is new and contemporary. Curtis is polished and debonair. And Marilyn Monroe is Marilyn Monroe…..at her best. Very extremely advisable.
Associated