The Corner Penthouse

There are many classic films that, for one reason or another, I have never seen before. The Princess Bride is one, and Some Like It Hot is another. Due to the recent Criterion Collection release, I finally sat down and watched it. Is Some Like It Hot as good as everyone says it is? Read on to find out...


After witnessing the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, slick saxophone player Joe (Tony Curtis) and his long-suffering buddy, Jerry (Jack Lemmon), improvise a quick plan to escape from Chicago with their lives. Disguising themselves as women, they join an all-female jazz band and hop a train bound for sunny Florida. While Joe pretends to be a millionaire to win the band's sexy singer, Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe), Jerry finds himself pursued by real millionaire Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown) as things heat up and the mobsters close in.


I've always loved comedies with witty dialog. It's one of the reasons why I prefer Ghostbusters (1984) over Ghostbusters (2016); or why I'm more of a fan of the Marx Brothers instead of the Three Stooges. That could explain why I love Some Like It Hot. The movie is jam-packed with snappy dialog that constantly put a smile on my face almost as much as Marilyn did.


Director Billy Wilder keeps things moving at a brisk pace and never do you feel like there's any padding. Being that the film is about musicians, there are a few music numbers, including one of Marilyn's signature songs, "I Wanna Be Love By You". Most of the time, I feel that songs slow down a movie. Here, they work seamlessly with the plot and it makes me want to buy the soundtrack album.


Some Like It Hot tends to appear on many "best" and "top" lists, and after watching it, I can certainly understand why. It's quite an influential film. Heck, the Tom Hanks/Peter Scoleri TV series Bosom Buddies and the Whoopi Goldberg movie Sister Act would not exist without this film. Definitely, Sister Act, which pretty much rips off the plot of Some Like It Hot.


At a runtime of 2:02:18 (including a 12-second Criterion logo before the film, and 25 seconds of exit music, MGM logo, and transfer credits at the end), Some Like It Hot is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a 1080p transfer. On the audio side, there is an uncompressed English LPCM 1.0 Mono track. The film includes English SDH subtitles.


A nice selection of new and old bonus features can be found on the disc. The disc also includes content from Criterion's 1989 laserdisc release, as well as previous MGM DVD and Blu-ray releases.

• Audio Commentary - This commentary, recorded for the Criterion Collection in 1989, features film scholar Howard Suber.
• The Making of Some Like It Hot (25:46) - This short program was produced in 2001 or 2006 for MGM/UA and features interviews with actors Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond and writer-director Billy Wilder, among others.
• The Legacy of Some Like it Hot (20:22) - This short program was produced in 2001 or 2006 for MGM/UA and features interviews with actors Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond and writer-director Billy Wilder, among others.
• Memories from the Sweet Sues (12:04) - This short program was produced in 2001 for MGM/UA and features interviews with actors Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond and writer-director Billy Wilder, among others.
• Costumes by Orry-Kelly (18:59) - In the following short documentary, produced by the Criterion Collection in July 2018, costume designer and historian Deborah Nadoolman Landis and costume historian and archivist Larry McQueen discuss Orry-Kelly and his designs for Some Like It Hot.
• Billy Wilder and Dick Cavett (55:37) - On January 14 and 15, 1982, writer-director Billy Wilder appeared on back-to-back episodes of The Dick Cavett Show, both of which are presented here. In them, Wilder and Cavett engage in a wide-ranging discussion of the filmmaker's life and career.
• Tony Curtis and Leonard Maltin (31:14) - The following conversation between critic Leonard Maltin and actor Tony Curtis about Some Like It Hot was recorded in 2001 for MGM/UA.
• Jack Lemmon (9:50) - On May 15,1988, Jack Lemmon appeared on the French television program Cinema cinemas. In that interview, presented here, he discusses Some Like It Hot, his costar Marilyn Monroe, and his thoughts on his approach to acting. Presented in English with hard-coded yellow French subtitles.
• Marilyn Monroe (8:45) - In this rare radio recording of Marilyn Monroe from June 12, 1955, the star holds her own opposite Monitor host Dave Garroway in a discussion of her acting ambitions and status as a sex symbol. Presented as audio only, under a single still image of Marilyn, without subtitles.
• Trailer (2:20) - A vintage trailer for the movie.

Criterion is one of the few companies left who puts a little care into their packaging, and Some Like It Hot is no exception. The Blu-ray is stored in a slightly thick clear standard-size Blu-ray case. Inside is a fold-out booklet featuring the essay "How To Have Fun" by Sam Wasson, technical credits, detailed cast and crew information, and lots of cast photos.


Some Like It Hot is available on Blu-Ray and 2-disc DVD. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this new Criterion Collection release.



All images were taken from the IMDB gallery of the film, or were provided by Criterion. The Blu-ray has been provided by Criterion for review on this site.