Some Like It Hot

Synopsis:
The launching pad for Billy Wilder's comedy classic was a rusty old German farce, "Fanfares of Love", whose two main characters were male musicians so desperate to get a job that they disguise themselves as women and play with an all-girl band in gangster-dominated 1929 Chicago. In this version, musicians Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry  (Jack Lemmon) lose their jobs when a speakeasy owned by mob boss Spats Colombo (George Raft) is raided by prohibition agent Mulligan (Pat O'Brien). Several weeks later, on February 14th, Joe and Jerry get a job perfroming in Urbana and end up witnessing a gangland massacre in a parking garage. Fearing that they will be next on the mobsters' hit lists, Joe devises an ingenious plan for disguising their identities. Soon they are all dolled up and performing as Josephine and Daphne in Sweet Sue's all-girl orchestra. En route to Florida by train with Sweet Sue's band, the boys (girls?) make the acquaintance of Sue's lead singer Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe). Joe and Jerry immediately fall in love, though of course their new feminine identities prevent them from acting on their desires.

Official site

Nominations:
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jack Lemmon), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration - Black-and-White, Best Cinematography - Black-and-White, Best Director, Best Writing - Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, 1960 Academy Awards, USA
Best Film from any Source, 1960 BAFTA Awards
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, 1960 Directors Guild of America, USA
Best Soundtrack Album, 1959 Grammy Awards

Awards:
Best Costume Design - Black-and-White, 1960 Academy Awards, USA
Best Foreign Actor (Jack Lemmon), 1960 BAFTA Awards
Best Motion Picture - Comedy, Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy (Jack Lemmon), Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy (Marilyn Monroe), 1960 Golden Globes, USA
2nd Place - Top Female Comedy Performance (Marilyn Monroe), 2nd Place - Top Male Comedy Performance (Jack Lemmon), 3rd Place - Top Comedy, 1960 Laurel Awards
PGA Hall of Fame - Motion Pictures (Billy Wilder), 2000 PGA Awards
Best Written American Comedy, 1960 Writers Guild of America, USA

The Library of Congress chose Some Like It Hot for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1989.

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