Some like it hawt

Some Like It Hot - 1959

Production Context

• based on 1935 French film 'Fanfare of love' - follows a similar plot of two musicians dressing as women in an all-female band.
• Remade in Germany in 1951
• SLIH is based on the German version as the French one doesn't exist anymore
• Produced by The Mirisch Company and distributed by United Artists
• Shot interiors at Goldwyn Studios
• Hotel exteriors were shot at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego
• This allows for Monroe to live on set which solved some issues she caused with production.
• SLIH was released without the PCA's approval (was the first) and was banned for 'sexual perversion', banned in Kansas
• despite this, SLIH was still successful.

Studio System

• The golden age of Hollywood had come to an end in the 60s
• people weren't going to the cinema as much and studios were losing money due to; the rise of television, baby boomers, genre stagnation
• distributed by United Artists which was founded in 1919 because actors/directors wanted more control over their films due to the pressures the studios were imposing upon performers.

Auteur

• Director - Billy Wilder
• Austrian-American writer/director
• known for his witty dialogue and well paced stories
• considered to have a practical shooting style (focused more on presenting the story than fancy camerawork)
• Jack Lemmon
• popular comedy actor in the 50s and 60s
• close friends with Tony Curtis
• nominated for an Oscar in SLIH
• starred in several Wilder films throughout his career.
• Tony Curtis
• popular comedy and dramatic actor in the 50s for performances like Harry Houdini in Houdini
• Briefly dated Marylyn Monroe before either of them were famous
• Curtis claims he had an affair with Monroe during SLIH (both were married) leading to her pregnancy

Marilyn Monroe

• Actress, singer and sex symbol in the 50s well-known for her portrayal of 'the dumb blonde' character.
• Had small parts in comedies and dramas in the early 50s
• in 1954 it was repeated that monroe had posed nude for a photoshoot when she was 23 and caused a scandal at fox. She used this to her advantage to get sympathy from the public. With new interest in her career, she became a household name starring in very successful films such as 'gentlemen prefer blondes'
• She was incapable of learning some of her lines, it took her 47 takes to say "it's me, sugar"; she kept saying "sugar, it's me"
• many lines were written on boards or onto the set because she couldn't remember her lines.
• frequently 2/3 hours late to set
• occaisionally refused to leave her dressing room
• and she was drunk in loads of scenes
• Marilyn Monroe's contract demanded that all her films be shot in colour but after she saw the ''ghoulish' makeup she changed her mind.
• Pregnancy
• She was pregnant during filming which led Wilder to shooting scenes creatively and giving Monroe costume elements to hide her bump.
• Publicity stills and posters had to be taken with other actresses with Monroe's head added in later.

Barbette

• Vander Clyde (birth name) was a female impersonator used to perform acrobatics in circus in drag from 1912
• became increasingly popular as a female impersonator in the 20s and 30s.
• In the 1940s she became a Hollywood films consultant for circus and female impersonation scenes.
• She taught Curtis and Lemmon how to walk in heels and they walked around Goldwyn Studios in full costume and even 'fixed' their makeup in a female bathroom without anyone realising it.

Historical Context

• Between 1934 - 1968 before a film is released, each film had to be submitted to the Production Code Administration (PCA).
• The PCA were extremely strict with the film content
• If a film was denied approval, the PCA pressured studios not to show the film and got the American Religious Right to boycott it.

Baby boomers

• After WW2 many people settled down and had a family.
• this led to the baby boom with a huge increase in the US birth rate.
• by the 60's these baby boomers were coming of age
• this + loads of older people dying in war meant the population was younger
• when the boomers were growing up, their parents taught them the 'american dream' and patriotism
• they realised that working hard doesn't always lead to a good job and rejected the american dream.
• this lead to a generation that would rebel.

1950s Hollywood

• Hollywood tried to target the youth market as the older generation just watched TV.
• Anti-heroes reflected their rebellious youth
• Less conservative views on set
• Increased interest in foreign cinema
• TV was becoming an issue as people preferred to stay home and watch TV for free.

Women in the 50's

• After WW2 women were pressured to return to housework rather than paid jobs.
• pay inequality was still legal
• birth control was illegal across the US.
• Husbands could have sex with their wife regardless of consent.
• sexual harassment was sexually acceptable.

Homosexuality

• during the 50's homosexuals were seen as mentally ill.
• gay men were sacked from government positions as they were seen as susceptable to communist blackmail.

ANALYSIS

Black and white

• The choice to film in black and white mirrors society's polarising conception of gender and sexuality.
• B + W is seen as the old way to film just as hegemonic views of sexuality is old and outdated.
• it homages the gangster films of the 3'0's
• was done for practical reasons - Curtis and Lemmon's makeup was very drastic and greenish in colour
• Marilyn Monroe's contract demanded that all her films be shot in colour but after she saw the ''ghoulish' makeup she changed her mind.

Gender

• The film condemns: the male gaze, sexism, sexual inapproripate behaviour, sexual discrimination
• Jerry and Joe start as un-enlightened males - objectifying and financially abusing women.
• scene where they first see sugar at the station
• borrowing money and cars from various women
• but they see women as equals by the end of the film.

Vehicles

• Vehicles are prominent throughout the film, emphasising the theme of progress and moving forward.
• societal progress

Newness

• Defies stereotypical story conventions
• Joe and Jerry are never punished for their deciet
• when Sugar learns that Joe has been tricking her, she forgives him immediately and runs off with him.
• When Osgood learns that Jerry is a man, he doesn't mind.
• Jerry and Osgood's sexuality is never confirmed.
• The film focused on taboo subject matter for the time period it was released in
• This rebellion form the traditional story conventions couldn't been what made the film so popular and connect with the baby boomer generation that rejected the old ways.

Scene analysis

• Diegetic sound
• Jerry sounds worried, complaining --- Joe is in control asserting dominance and monotone dialogue
• 'just like jello on springs' 'how do they walk in these things' 'locked up in a pastry shop'
• Mise en scene
• Black and white, both wearing fur - predator's fur, both wearing black - evil connotations, Marilyn wears a tight dress , train steam --- symbolyses ejaculation.
• Camera/lighting
• Low key lighting, medium shot slight upper angle -- power, scene direction -- left to right, handheld tracking shot.
• Editing
• close up shot looking up at J + J ---> looking down at Sugar