Josephine and Daphne looking forward to warmer climates.

by Karl Madsen, Media Editor

What do you do when you and your musician friend just happen to be in a Chicago garage on Valentine’s Day 1929? And while you’re there some people stop by. People with bad intentions. With guns. And lots of bullets. Any you’re witnesses. My first choice would be to dress as women, join an all girl orchestra, and head to Florida. But that’s just me.

Oddly enough that’s what Joe (Tony Curtis – Spartacus), and Jerry (Jack Lemmon – The Odd Couple) decide to do when the witness a mob hit by Spats Colombo (George Raft – Johnny Angel) in Some Like it Hot. After witnessing the massacre, Joe and Jerry grab their instruments, some women’s garments, and join an all women band on their way to a gig in Florida.

Joe and Jerry are in the garage to borrow a car when Spats and some of his boys show up for some revenge on a snitch. Our musicians witness the whole thing and decide to accept that gig with Sweet Sue and Her Society Syncopators, an all girl band heading for three weeks in Miami. Once in Florida, our duo falls in love, Joe with Sugar Cane (Marilyn Monroe – Seven Year Itch), and Daphne with an infatuated Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown – It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World). It’s also pretty clear that the mob will show up and throw a wrench into everyone’s plans and the stories they’ve told stories.

Some Like it Hot was made in 1959, and was risqué for its time. It was accused of being morally objectionable, and for promoting homosexuality, lesbianism, and transvestism. It was even rated ‘for adults only’. It is the basis for every other cross dressing, hiding out, needing to be someone else movie made since then: Tootsie, Victor/Victoria, She’s the Man, and Big Mama to name a few. With any movie like this, there are flaws, besides the fact that Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon make a couple of homely ladies. But it’s the hard to believe moments that make this flick the comedy classic it has become.

Special Features:

Commentary featuring an interview with Tony Curtis, archived interview with Jack Lemon and commentary by Paul Diamond (Son of I.A.L. Diamond) and Screenwriters Lowel Ganz and Babaloo Mandel.

The making of Some Like it Hot.

The legacy of Some Like it Hot.

“Nostalgic look back” documentary.

“Memories from the Sweet Sue” Featurette.

Virtual Hall of Memories.

Original theatrical trailer.

Nobody’s perfect.

I have often wondered at the sense of using Blu-ray as a medium for the black and white classics, but with Some Like it Hot, I’m convinced there is value added. This film was just shown on television so I could make a comparison, and on Blu-ray the details were sharper and the picture more focused in general. The sound is better on Blu-ray as well, though mostly when the band is playing is the sound noticeably crisper. So while the Blu-ray treatment may not be as breathtaking as with newer movies, the difference it makes when converting a classic like this shows it is worth the effort.

ComicsOnline gives Some Like it Hot 5 cross dressing musicians out of 5.

Pick up your copy of Some Like it Hot on Blu-ray at Amazon.com.

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