Midwestern Literature

The 1920’s was always remembered as an era of a new world where people willingly gave in to forbidden pleasures. Such an era sparks interest among those who never experienced it and sends those who have, on a trip down memory lane. Based on that, why not make a movie that best represents the aspects of the popular decade?

From beginning to end, Billy Wilder’s Some Like it Hot was a pleasurable and witty black and white romantic comedy with “raging” jazz performances, a historically accurate representation of the Chicago mob world, and a significant launch in the acting careers of several well known actors. Although underneath all the glitz, there was a darker side of Eden, where a forbidden pleasure awaited every person.

The film was set in Chicago during the mob days of the late 1920’s. Jerry (Jack Lemmon) and Joe (Tony Curtis) played at a banned Prohibition speakeasy when the police took hold of it and the two desperate musicians were left looking for another job. While picking up a car to travel to an overnight gig to Urbana, the musicians witnessed the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Fearing for their lives, they lied, disguised themselves as women, and took a three-week all expenses paid job playing in a female jazz band heading toward Florida. Along the way, Joe/Josephine developed an interest for the lead singer, Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe), who in return fell for the young and gentle millionaire that Joe disguised as to get Sugar’s interest. At the same time, Jerry/Daphne got the attention of goofy millionaire, Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown), who was unaware of Daphne’s true identity and would not take “no” for an answer. In the midst of it all, Spats (the mob boss in pursuit to catch Jerry and Joe) and his entire mafia were attending the “National Convention for the Friends of the Italian Opera.” Coincidently, they were bound to run into two very familiar faces.

The human nature relies on a person to dabble into the forbidden pleasure and use the power of persuasion that he or she may naturally possess to achieve the satisfaction of a secondary need. That person of pure driven need will use the dirtiest tricks in the book to achieve a certain state of satisfaction or fulfill a materialistic need. Marilyn Monroe herself had been represented as a sex-kitten and it’s not a surprise that her character, Sugar Kane, followed the same criteria of a lusted after prize with just enough innocence to drive the opposite sex over the edge. Similarly, Tony Curtis played a character, Joe, whose sole purpose in life was to sweet talk and playfully deceive females to turn to butter. If it meant lying and cheating his way out of the truth, he was willing to do anything to get the satisfaction for his desperate lust.

Joined by an enraged mob boss, “an ancient playboy” millionaire searching for a lustful relationship, and a band full of unlady-like females, this film was an unforgettable comedy, filled with interesting characters, all of whom brought life and vitality to the plot of the movie. Most recognized was the humorous character, Osgood Fielding III, who revealed that he was a picky and spoiled mama’s boy. He admitted to having more than his share of wives, none of whom got his mother’s approval. Furthermore, there was also the infamous mob boss, who kept his slack so white that they seemed almost blinding to the viewer, at the same time he used all the dirty tricks and committed all sorts of filthy crimes.

Some Like it Hot, even to this day, has the ability to draw the viewers to giggle and chuckle over the unrealistically humorous scenarios. For example, it’s a little hard to believe that Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon managed to trick everyone around them to believe that they were women, when even on a black and white screen there was nothing physically feminine about their appearance. The same unrealistic view can be applied to the fact that there was too much of a coincidence that Spats and the mob group that were looking for Jerry and Joe happen to end up in the same hotel in all of Florida at the same exact week as the two disguised men.  In truth, even with the unlikely scenarios, the overall humor of the movie overpowered it all.  After all, like the renowned line delivered by Joe E. Brown, “nobody’s perfect.”

One of the most interesting aspects worth mentioning is the director’s choice of color in the movie. As a matter of fact, it’s the lack of color that makes it so interesting. This choice of making the motion picture a black and white appeared to be his way of making the representation of the 1920’s in a more authentic way, giving the film an older look, when all other movies were made in the 1950’s  were in full color. Although, most may not realize that one of the main reasons for his lack of vivid color was to hide the many unlady-like flaws of the disguised men, who may likely lose their appeal and make the cross-dressing scenes an absolutely petrifying experience.

When comparing the quality and the use of make up in today’s films verses the make up used in Some Like it Hot, it’s clear to see that make up has gone a long way since the cross-dressing scenes of the 50’s. As a matter of fact, it’s almost hard to comprehend that a 30 something years old man was able to be transformed into a 60 years old English woman by using just the right combination of make up in the popular movie with Robin Williams, Mrs. Doubtfire. Today that make-up can look more realistic than any editing process of a computer.

Similarly, the setting of the movie does a great job at representing a certain time, as well as giving the audience a better view of what life was really like back then. That was certainly acknowledged through the police chases, smuggling of alcohol for underground bars, and the hunger for power and revenge of the Chicago mafia throughout the city. Like the scene of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, where Spats and his gang brutally murdered Tooth-Pick Charlie and his men with an automatic for giving away the location of Spat’s speakeasy to the Chicago Police. This was certainly a fascinating time period of non-existing boundaries, self-reinventions, and unpredictable life styles.

Jazz has always been an upbeat and exciting genre for music. Originally hip and popular in 20’s, jazz is still a favorite in many gatherings. Although, introduced and experimented with in the past, jazz music was a perfect way to set the mood and give the audience the bona fide feeling of reality and closeness to the actual time period of the story. Likewise, the use of jazz music also weaved into the story line, where two unemployed jazz musicians found a job playing for a female band while escaping a deathly encounter with a mob boss.

An Academy Award for Best Costume Design and about half a dozen other nominations later, Some Like it Hot is still “hot” in its own sense. As a matter of fact, the jokes, the story line, and the genre will never lose its spark and humor in the theater and at home. Just like the movie itself, the actors of those days made their way into the hearts of many devoted viewers who even to this day can’t get enough of Jack Lemmon and his notorious comedies like The Odd Couple and Grumpy Old Men. Likewise, Marilyn Monroe will always be a fascinating young woman. Whether it is on the cover of “Playboy” magazine or making herself a respectable actress and model in Hollywood, she will always be the epitome of glamour and beauty.

In the end, one finds out that there does not have to be “a fuzzy end of a lollipop” (a line delivered by Marilyn Monroe to describe the irony of her life) or the fact that “nobody’s perfect” or “the wrong shape,” said by Joe E. Brown in the last scene of the movie. But with a little imagination, humor, and a bit of cross-dressing one might just have something worth laughing about. As the unknown reviewer for “Crazy 4 Cinema” said, “It was funny then and it’s funny now. Men in dresses never go out of style.”