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Welcome to Movies & Film
Movie Reviews, & Film Industry Commentary
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1959 – NR – 122 min.
Director: Billy Wilder
Primary Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O’Brien, Joe E. Brown
Stars ***** (of 5)
Popcorn **** (of 5)
Film Type(s): Comedy, Gangsters, Drag, Prohibition, Jazz
Synopsis: In 1929 Chicago, out of work musicians Joe (Curtis) and Jerry (Lemmon) are accidental witnesses to the St. Valentines Day Massacre. Now the only way out of town and away from Mob Boss “Spats” Colombo (Raft), is for the boys to dress up like girls and leave for Florida with an All-Girls band. What neither expects is to meet lead Singer Sugar Kane (Who “always gets the fuzzy end of the lollypop”). “Josephine” tries to swoon Sugar by also pretending to be a millionaire and a real millionaire is now courting Jerry / “Daphne”. Things get even more complicated when “Spats” shows up in Florida. A classic film farce from Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, based on the German farce, Fanfares of Love.
Review: Often called ‘The best film about guys in drag’ by critics, it is so very true. After witnessing the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, two musicians are forced to leave town in drag, only to have other people fall in love with them and the Chicago gangsters hot on their trail. The Master himself, Billy Wilder, is at his Directing and Writing best with Writing partner I.A.L. Diamond, giving a movie script brimming with witty commentary and sly double entendres about the differences between men and women, making it one of the teams’ best films ever. Some of the commentary is, in fact, quite racy for a 1950s sex comedy, a trademark for the Wilder / Diamond team. What makes that script come alive, however, are the performances of Curtis’ wolfish fish-out-of water Joe, Lemmon’s adjusts-too-well-to-being-a-“woman” Jerry / “Daphne”, and Monroe’s air headed best as Sugar Kane. You never doubt the sincerity of the musicians’ attempts to deal with fake breasts, men who get ‘fresh’, and high heels, not to mention preserving their lives. Curtis even does his best Cary Grant impersonation when ‘Joe’ is trying to win over Sugar. Also giving a dynamite performance is Brown as a millionaire that falls for ‘Daphne’, delivering the films’ final line with such matter of factness, you can’t help but laugh. The Tango sequence is a must-see. All of Monroe’s gowns were made by Orry-Kelly and were so well done that, reportedly, Monroe took the dress Orry-Kelly had made for Jack Lemmon to wear for the first train scene for herself the night before shooting! Wilder said years later that the reason that he chose to film it in black and white primarily because Curtis and Lemmon looked so hideous in color. (“You must be quite a girl.” “Wanna bet?”)
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