“But I’m a man!
Nobody’s perfect”
With the exception of Rhett’s exit line in Gone with the Wind, probably the single greatest last line in a film. Loosely adapted by I. A. L. Diamond from a script by Robert Thoeren called Fanfares of Love, this story was first made into a French film in 1935 and later in Germany in 1951. Some Like It Hot has been voted the best ever comedy film ever. It’s a classic not only because of the great story and sharp dialogue but the quality of the performances from its three leads are superior. Tony Curtis as Joe, Jack Lemmon as Jerry and Marilyn Monroeas Sugar are comedy lightening in a bottle. The guys disguise themselves as women and then hook-up with Sugar. (Marilyn reportedly flubbed her lines constantly during filming. 47 takes alone for her to say,
“It’s me, Sugar.”
Oddly, Marilyn had a clause in her contract that said she would only appear in COLOR films. That was the original intention, until the make-up used to turn Lemmon and Curtis into 20s flappers gave their skin an awful green cast. Black and white was the solution. (Not get a new makeup artist?) The black and white throws off time period nicely though, because the story is set the 20s, but it was shot in the 50s.
Curtis and Lemmon tested their drag by wandering around the studio and then going into the ladies’ room. Apparently, nobody noticed they were guys. These photos shot on set show how they interacted and played with drag. Curtis was having a fling in real life with Marilyn which must have added another layer to the whole cake.
