Jack Lemmon & Billy Wilder On Marilyn Monroe

Jack Lemmon co-starred and Billy Wilder directed Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, released in 1959 it’s one of the funniest comedies in Hollywood history. Brilliant from start to finish.

The plot is a simple one: Two men are witness to a Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre type murder, in order to evade the mobsters hunting for them they disguise themselves as female musician and go out on the road with an all girl orchestra.

Dialogue from the movie:
Sweet Sue: Didn't you girls say you went to a conservatory?
Jerry/Daphne: Yes. For a whole year.
Sweet Sue: I thought you said three years.
Joe/Josephine: We got time off, for good behavior.

Jack Lemmon states in this interview, “She was a gifted comedienne, in my opinion, there’s no question about that. She understood comedy, she had developed herself, nobody gave her that peculiar, those marvelous mannerisms, the thin high voice, the funny look, whatever was Marilyn, what people imitate and never quite come up to. That was all her.”

About Marilyn’s work ethic, Lemmon was less impressed, “This is a professional commitment, you must do it. You go on whether you feel good or not. She could not do it until she herself was ready.”

“Some Like It Hot director Billy Wilder also attests to Marilyn being difficult, “We would have like 300 extras and she would show up at 2 in the afternoon. And I said, ‘What happened?’ She said, ‘I lost my way.’ Now, she stayed at the same house, the studio was not moved overnight. And she lost her way.”

Some Like it Hot (1959) Movie Trailer

“A wise girl knows her limits, a smart girl knows that she has none.” - Marilyn Monroe