Some Like It Hot
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Synopsis
After witnessing the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 Chicago, two broke musicians disguise themselves as women to join an all-female jazz band bound for Florida, only for romantic complications and vengeful mobsters to catch up with them.
Plot
In prohibition-era Chicago in February 1929, saxophonist Joe and double bassist Jerry scrape together a living gigging in an underground speakeasy masked as a funeral home. When federal agent Mulligan raids the joint, the pair barely escape without pay. While retrieving a car from a parking garage, they inadvertently witness mob boss Spats Colombo and his gunmen execute rival gangsters in the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. Spats spots the two musicians, forcing them to flee for their lives.
With the mob hunting them across town, Joe and Jerry discover an open position for a saxophone and bass player in Sweet Sue and Her Society Syncopators—an all-female touring band heading by train to a luxury resort in Miami, Florida. Desperate to stay alive, they disguise themselves in wigs, dresses, and makeup, adopting the female personas of “Josephine” and “Daphne.” For more Golden Age movie analysis, stream guides, and comedy retrospectives, explore MovieToWatch. On the train south, they quickly befriend the band’s sweet-natured, ukulele-playing lead singer, Sugar Kane, with both men instantly falling head over heels for her while struggling to keep their feminine covers intact.
Ending Explained
At the Seminole Ritz Hotel in Florida, the deceptions spiral further out of control. Joe adopts a third identity: borrowing a yachting captain outfit and affecting a mid-Atlantic accent as “Junior,” the heir to Shell Oil, to court Sugar on a luxury yacht. Meanwhile, wealthy aging millionaire Osgood Fielding III becomes passionately infatuated with Jerry as Daphne, proposing marriage after a wild night of tango dancing. Jerry accepts the proposal, caught up in the fantasy of lifelong wealth.
Everything unravels when Spats Colombo and his mob syndicate check into the exact same hotel for the “Friends of Italian Opera” convention. Spats recognizes Joe and Jerry disguised as bellhops, sparking a frantic chase through the hotel. While hiding under a banquet table, the musicians witness Colombo and his crew get gunned down by a rival mob faction led by “Little Bonaparte.” Realizing they must flee Florida immediately, Joe phones Sugar to bid an emotional farewell, but Sugar recognizes his voice as the fake oil heir. Sugar rushes to the dock, jumping aboard Osgood’s motorboat just as Joe and Jerry prepare to escape. Joe admits his real identity and flaws, but Sugar kisses him anyway, confessing she loves him as he is. When Jerry tries to break his engagement to Osgood by coming clean, pulling off his wig and exclaiming, “I’m a man!”, Osgood simply smiles and replies, “Well, nobody’s perfect.”
What We Think About This Movie
What We Liked
Marilyn Monroe's luminous, vulnerable, and pitch-perfect comedic performance as Sugar Kane Kowalczyk.
Flawless, rapid-fire comic interplay and timing between Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.
Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond's peerless, joke-dense screenplay that helped dismantle the restrictive Hays Code.
Joe E. Brown's hilarious tango pursuit and the delivery of the legendary final curtain line.
What We Didn't Like
Farce logic requires complete suspension of disbelief regarding the boys' physical disguises as women.
Certain gender dynamics and stereotypical tropes show their late-50s age.
Who Should Watch
Anyone exploring the greatest comedies and foundational classics of American cinema history.
Fans of Marilyn Monroe at her absolute peak of charisma, musical talent, and charm.
Viewers who appreciate sparkling screwball dialogue, high-stakes disguise farces, and smart romantic mix-ups.
Who Should Skip
Viewers unable to buy into broad drag farces and mistaken-identity conventions.
Audiences looking for modern, low-key, grounded naturalistic comedy.
Movie Details
Where to Watch Some Like It Hot in the USA
Frequently Asked Questions About Some Like It Hot
Did Some Like It Hot win any Academy Awards?
Yes, costume designer Orry-Kelly won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, and the film was nominated for five additional Oscars, including Best Director for Billy Wilder and Best Actor for Jack Lemmon.
Why was Some Like It Hot filmed in black and white?
Although color film was standard by 1959, early technicolor tests showed that Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon's heavy drag makeup gave their skin a sickly, unnatural green cast under bright studio lights, prompting Billy Wilder to shoot in high-contrast black and white.
Who delivered the famous line "Well, nobody's perfect"?
Comedian Joe E. Brown delivered the iconic line to Jack Lemmon as the final spoken sentence of the movie.
What impact did the film have on the Hollywood production code?
The film was released without the official seal of approval from the Motion Picture Association's Hays Code due to its open cross-dressing, sexual themes, and humor, serving as a major historic step toward the code's eventual abolition and replacement by the modern ratings system.
