Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Know Your LGBT History

Friday, December 31, 2010

Know Your LGBT History - Some Like It Hot

Barring something incredible happening, this will be my last post of 2010 for my blog. 2010 has been a fun ride and we got a lot of stuff accomplished for our community. I want to end it all on a happy note with this latest edition of Know Your LGBT History, my series looking at the history of lgbt portrayals on television and in the movies. Enjoy today's edition and past editions. Can you believe that I am almost at 100 episodes? I apologize in advance for any broken links.

Happy New Year everyone and may 2011 be as fruitful for us as 2010 was

Some Like It Hot (1959) is a classic and one of my favorite movies of all time. Directed by the legendary Billy Wilder and starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and the one herself, Marilyn Monroe, it is a comedy about two musician who happen to witness the murder of a group of mobsters.

To escape the killers, they run away from the city and take refuge in an all-girls band, disguised as women. Hilarity ensues as Lemmon gets engaged to a millionaire and Curtis falls for the lead singer of the band, played by Marilyn Monroe:

From Wikipedia:

The film was awarded an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (Orry-Kelly) and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jack Lemmon), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White (Ted Haworth, Edward G. Boyle), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

It won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Comedy. Marilyn Monroe won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in Musical or Comedy, and Jack Lemmon for Best Actor in Musical or Comedy.

The film has been acclaimed worldwide as one of the greatest films ever made. In 1989, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," going in on the first year of voting.

In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted it the eighth greatest comedy film of all time. In 2002, Channel 4 ranked Some Like It Hot as the fifth greatest film ever made in their 100 Greatest Films Poll.

The only problem I have with Some Like It Hot is the fact that Monroe should have gotten an Oscar nomination. If anyone ever wonders why Monroe is a legend, show them this film.

But the part that almost everyone remembers about this movie is the ending. Lemmon has to break the news to a millionaire that they can't get married because he is a man. But the millionaire doesn't seem to mind:

2 comments:

Kathygnome said...: Just a big things for this series. I love your LGBT history posts!

Happy New Years!; 10:09 AM
Anonymous said...: One of our families fav movies. Watched again just TGiving. Remember speakeasies were first time women could go to bars. Fascinating there were all female bands!
LOrion; 12:23 PM