Some Like It Hot review

Billy Wilder was once told by movie mogul David Selznick that "blood and jokes don't mix". Thankfully, Wilder ignored this advice and went ahead with Some Like It Hot, a black-and-white farce which daringly blended gender confusion, unorthodox romance and brutal murder. The result was one of Hollywood's most endearing and enduring comedies, which is now being re-released by the BFI in a new 35mm print.

Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are the struggling musicians in late '20s Chicago, who find themselves in trouble when they inadvertently witness a gangland massacre, arranged by the mobster Spats (a dime-flipping George Raft). Desperate to flee the city, they disguise themselves as members of an all-girl jazz group heading for a gig in Florida.

But amorous complications set in when Curtis's `Josephine' is smitten with the voluptuous lead singer (a touchingly vulnerable Marilyn Monroe), while Lemmon's `Daphne' is pursued by an elderly male millionaire. And then Spats and his cohorts arrive...

Superbly constructed, and with a trio of terrific lead performances to complement the sparkling script, Some Like It Hot offers up countless magical comedy moments: the late-night party on Daphne's bunk-bed, Curtis's Cary Grant impersonation, Lemmon's dance with the maracas, Monroe's heartfelt rendition of I'm Through With Love... Not to mention one of the finest, and funniest, closing lines in cinema history.