Silver Screen Standards: Transformative Drag in Some Like It Hot (1959)

Transformative Drag in Some Like It Hot (1959)

Some Like It Hot (1959) is widely celebrated as one of classic Hollywood’s greatest comedies, even though its cross-dressing plot roused conservative ire and caused the movie to be released without Hays Code approval in 1959. Thanks to the brilliant direction of co-writer and producer Billy Wilder and the outstanding performances of Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe, the movie went on to earn six Oscar nominations, which probably infuriated its detractors even more, and its success helped to nail shut the coffin of the waning Motion Picture Production Code. After 65 years, one might expect Some Like It Hot to have lost some of its relevance, especially in its depiction of gender identity, but the movie holds up surprisingly well. I think its continued appeal stems in part from the fact that it doesn’t just play the cross-dressing of its protagonists for laughs. Instead, the film treats the experience as transformative, allowing its male characters to learn and grow as a result of their time inhabiting female identities.

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon star as jazz musicians Joe and Jerry, who find it tough to make a living in Chicago during Prohibition. Living becomes even tougher after the pair accidentally witness a gangland massacre carried out by Spats Colombo (George Raft) and his henchmen, so Joe and Jerry disguise themselves as women in order to leave town with an all-female band. Presenting themselves as Josephine and Daphne, the two make friends with fellow performer Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe) and arrive in sunny Florida, where surprising romances develop for both of them even as Spats and his fellow gangsters arrive at the same hotel for a gathering of organized criminal groups.

Each of the two men starts out behaving like a
stereotypical heterosexual male in the most negative sense. Joe manipulates the
women around him for his own benefit; he flatters them and pretends to care
until he gets whatever he wants out of them. We see Joe’s success with these
tactics at the agent’s office, but we also see the secretary’s resentment of
this behavior, which we understand to be habitual. Before their speakeasy gets
raided, Jerry mentions that the two have borrowed money from every woman working
there, so we know that they have a long history of taking advantage of women
(most of whom get arrested during the raid while Joe and Jerry slip away). If
Joe is a heel, Jerry turns out to be more of a wolf, a trait we first see after
they board the train in Chicago as Josephine and Daphne. Jerry/Daphne gleefully
imagines himself enjoying the female bandmates like a kid set loose in a pastry
shop, suggestively comparing them to jelly rolls, cream pies, and cherry tarts.
Both men are sexually attracted to Sugar Kane but are initially frustrated by
their inability to pursue her due to their disguises, which lead Sugar to think
of them as sympathetic girlfriends.

Joe and Jerry have unique transformative experiences
thanks to their cross-dressing, which introduces them to situations they have
never had to consider as men. As Josephine, Joe learns how Sugar has been hurt
in the past by men just like him; he transforms himself into a fake millionaire
because that’s the kind of man Sugar says she has decided to pursue. Although
he lies to her about his background and wealth, Sugar also lies to Joe, and Joe
cares enough that he tries to comfort her when it looks like he’ll have to
abandon her to avoid being murdered by the gangsters. Instead of trying to
sweet talk her out of her money to aid his escape, Joe gives Sugar a valuable
diamond bracelet (which doesn’t belong to him, to be fair, but still represents
money he and Jerry badly need for themselves). Being Josephine gives Joe the
opportunity to form a different kind of relationship with a woman and become a
better man as a result.

While Joe spends a lot of time in his Cary Grant millionaire persona, Jerry commits more fully to his feminine identity as Daphne, which leads to a more dramatic blurring of gender roles. Jerry/Daphne is initially flummoxed by the romantic advances of wealthy wooer Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown), but their passionate tango night marks a turning point in the relationship. Daphne accepts Osgood’s marriage proposal and worries more about the details of the wedding and the opinion of Osgood’s mother than the problem of revealing that Daphne is also Jerry. In the memorable finale, even that revelation fails to dissuade Osgood, who merely replies, “Well, nobody’s perfect!” Because the movie ends there, we don’t know how being Daphne will affect Jerry’s life going forward, but it has definitely altered his sense of himself and allowed him to question the very nature of his identity. Neither Jerry nor Joe will ever be perfect, but they both seem much improved as a result of their experiences as Daphne and Josephine.

Jack Lemmon’s performance as Jerry/Daphne earned him
an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and Billy Wilder picked up
nominations for both Director and Screenplay, but the film’s only win was for
Orry-Kelly’s costume design. For more of Wilder’s transgressive comedy, see The
Major and the Minor (1942), in which Ginger Rogers tries to romance Ray
Milland while pretending to be under the age of 12. Wilder also directed
Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Jack Lemmon in The
Apartment (1960), Irma la Douce (1963), The Fortune Cookie
(1966), and The Front Page (1974). If you want to explore the history of
drag in classic films, check out any version of Charley’s Aunt (the 1941
version stars Jack Benny), or look at silent and Pre-Code films in comparison
with those made after the collapse of the Hays Code. Some of the most memorable
Hollywood depictions of drag and cross-dressing include Queen Christina
(1933), Sylvia Scarlett (1935), Glen or Glenda (1953), Victor/Victoria
(1982), Tootsie (1982), To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie
Newmar (1995), and The Birdcage (1996), but there are plenty of
other noteworthy examples.

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— Jennifer Garlen for Classic Movie Hub

Jennifer Garlen pens our monthly Silver Screen Standards column. You can read all of Jennifer’s Silver Screen Standards articles here.

Jennifer is a former college professor with a PhD in English Literature and a lifelong obsession with film. She writes about classic movies at her blog, Virtual Virago, and presents classic film programs for lifetime learning groups and retirement communities. She’s the author of Beyond Casablanca: 100 Classic Movies Worth Watching and its sequel, Beyond Casablanca II: 101 Classic Movies Worth Watching, and she is also the co-editor of two books about the works of Jim Henson.