Hide and Seek

With the sounds of squeaking tires, police sirens, and gun fire, Billy Wilder’s 1959 film, Some Like It Hot, quickly immerses you into the crime infested streets of 1929 Chicago (Some Like It Hot). On the surface, Some Like It Hot appears to be a simple romantic comedy set within the background of organized crime and prohibition, but its latent satire deepens its meaning. Through the film’s examination of gender roles as represented by Tony Curtis’s portrayal of Joe and Jack Lemmon’s portrayal of Jerry, the film is effective in portraying the growth and dimension of said characters (Some Like It Hot). By embracing their feminine avatars, Joe becomes a more emotionally aware through Josephine, and Jerry extends his suppressed feminine traits through Dauphine. While objects of desire, Marlene Monroe’s characterization of Sugar Kane Kowalczyk and Joe E. Brown’s portrayal of Osgood Fielding III also experience their own growth, even though their growth is dependent on Jack and Jerry. Overall, this review will explore how the manipulation of sound becomes an indispensable part of the story, while also highlighting the characteristics of some of the main characters.

 After fleeing the police, Spats Colombo’s associates savage the few reminding bottles of illegal beer that were not hit by police gun fire to sell illegally in a Speakeasy posing as a funeral home (Some Like It Hot). As one of Chicago’s most ruthless gangsters, Spats Colombo sets the tone of the tone of the film in a deceptive funeral Parlour (Some Like It Hot). In this funeral bar, we are introduced a saxophone player named Joe and a bass player named Jerry, who will soon be unemployed and indebted to almost every in Chicago (Some Like It Hot). After not meeting the necessary biological requirements to fill the two reminding saxophone and bass positions in Sweet Sue’s Society Syncopates, Joe and Jerry must join an  all-girl band in order to survive (Some Like It Hot). As an incentive to flee from Spats Colombo, Joe transforms into the proper and strict saxophone player named Josephine and later into an asexual oil millionaire named Junior, and Jerry becomes the adventurous and fearless bass player, Dauphine, see image#1 (Some Like It Hot). Sweet Sue’s Society Syncopates and the talented Sugar Kane Kowalczyk travel to Miami Florida to entertain the wealthy and single men of industry (Some Like It Hot). From the climax of the story, Josephine and Dauphine and even Junior allow Joe, Sugar Kane, Jerry, and Osgood to grow into more three dimensional characters, with the exception for Sugar Kane and Osgood.

Image#1.1: Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as Joe/Josephine and Jerry/Dauphine  
Some Like It Hot. Dir. Billy Wider. Perf. Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Joan Shawlee, Dave Barry. HBO Home Video, 1988. DVD Screenshots.

With the opening credits, the music score, Runnin’ Wild, quickly ushers you into the jazz driven film. The brassy and grainy sound of the trumpet sets the mood of anticipation, while the fast pacing of the saxophone elevates the excitement and anticipation for the beginning of the film (Some Like It Hot). After one minute and thirty seconds of the jazz rendition of Runnin’ Will, the film’s sound transitions you into the ambient sound of Chicago, and the faint sound of motors roaring in the background of the scene (Some Like It Hot; Raj). However, the almost silent mood of the film abruptly changes to the high sounds of sirens, gun fire, and broken beer bottles in a coffin (Some Like It Hot). The constant oscillation between high pitch sounds to low ambient sounds is an effective tool in creating not only the mood of the sequence, but of the overall film. By implementing a jazz musical score that is relevant to the film’s narrative, and manipulating specific sound effects, the film heightens our awareness of an important period in U.S history.

After the opening credits introduce the frantic musical tone of the film, the camera’s angles visually introduce the accelerated pace of the film’s musical score. The opening scenes of Some Like It Hot document the authorities’ efforts to unveil criminal activities that occur behind acceptable business sponsored by Spats Colombo (Some Like It Hot).  With the ambient sounds of the streets, the camera cuts to a frontal medium close up of what appears to be funeral assistants, but the gradual fade in of police sirens quickly dismisses that assumption, see image#2 (Some Like It Hot). Later, the loud sounds of sirens and gun fire create the “sonic texture” of the film through its ability to create a dark and grainy tone of anticipation and suspense (Raj). The anticipation and suspense created by the “sonic texture” of the film clearly translate to the shot when Spats Colombo’s crew crowds tightly against the back window of their car to identify the sound of the sirens behind them, see image#2.2 (Some Like It Hot).

Image#2.2: Police Chase Sequence Some Like It Hot. Dir. Billy Wider. Perf. Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Joan Shawlee, Dave Barry. HBO Home Video, 1988. DVD Screenshots.

Ironically, during the police chase scenes, the film purposefully omits any sounds foreign to the narrative of the film or non-diegetic, and embraces the diegetic sound that depicts the actual reality of the story of the film (Raj). In Some Like It Hot, it may be argued that Eve Newman and Fred Lau, the music editor and the sound engineer, attempted to use non-diegetic sound to foreshadowing future events (IMDb). While the music editor and sound engineer manipulate and use artificial or non-diegetic sound to foreshadow events, the film’s director also uses camera shots to mask the music effects as natural or diegetic to the film. At the end the opening police sequence, the music score introduces us to Mozzarella's Funeral Parlour before ever seeing the building (Some Like It Hot). Once the camera cuts to the interior of the funeral parlor, the visual representation of a man playing the Liebesträume on the organ leads the viewer to equate the score as a non-diegetic sound (Some Like It Hot). By embracing non-diegetic sound, it may be argued that the filmmakers were attempting to inspire reflection not only about dangers of crime, but the over-reliance on force to solve social issued.

In addition to the strategic move of the camera and sound to further the narrative of the Some Like It Hot, the synchronous exchange between editing and sound also play a significant role in the film. For example, the use of dissolves helps to intensify the rising action as Joe and Jerry attempt to escape from the barrel of Spats Colombo’s gun (Some Like It Hot). So much of this film happens in the in-between or liminal moments when Joe and Jerry are either looking for work, or fleeing from a ruthless Spats Colombo (Some Like It Hot). Whether it is in the snowy sidewalks of Chicago, a dark alleyway, or in the corridors of a talent agency, these moments are usually accompanied by a dissolve, see image#3 (Some Like It Hot). These transitions aid in mechanically blending the uncertainty of being in-between jobs, life, and death with the anticipation and promise of a successful future where both characters live (Some Like It Hot). In other words, this editing technique sustains the tension of the film.

Image#3: Examples of key transitions in the film.  
Some Like It Hot. Dir. Billy Wider. Perf. Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Joan Shawlee, Dave Barry. HBO Home Video, 1988. DVD Screenshot.

In order to not spoil the film’s ending, I will focus instead on a part of the script that highlights one of the film’s most prevalent themes. In order to seduce Sugar, as so many saxophone players have in the past, Josephine/Joe becomes Junior, a Shell oil millionaire (Some Like It Hot). As Junior, Joe asks Sugar an insightful question: “Syncopators. Does that mean you play that very fast music…jazz” (Some Like It Hot)? Responding to Junior’s question, Sugar says, “Yeah. Real Hot” (Some Like It Hot) After affirming her preference for jazz, Junior condescendingly says, “I guess some like it hot. I prefer classical music,” see image#4.1 (Some Like It Hot). Because the title of the film is so ambiguous, one is lead to believe that the “it” is Sugar and not jazz (Some Like It Hot). This observation leads me to what I perceive as one of the film’s major flaws (Some Like It Hot).

While I appreciate the film cinematic techniques, the characterization of Sugar Kane Kowalczyk may be perceived as sexist, because of the way she is objectified in the film. While Sugar grows as a character towards the end of the film, her growth is completely dependent on Joe’s personal growth and development. As a result, Sugar is a passive character, who does not project her own desires independent of her beauty and men. However, twenty three years after the release of Some Like It Hot, Sydney Pollack, Larry Gelbart, and Murray Schisgal direct and write a a film that succeeds where Some Like It Hot fails (IMDb). Tootsie, released in 1982, not only explores the realities of gender as an artificial construct, but Julie, the female lead of the film, portrayed by Jessica Lange, is the opposite of Sugar (IMDb). Even though Julie and Sugar both grow through a man’s gender transformation through a feminine avatar, Julie exerts her personality as a single mother and career woman by rejecting the man once he drops his feminine avatar (IMDb). Overall, I strongly urge you to watch a three minute and ten second interview, where Dustin Hoffman talks about his personal relationship with Dorothy Michaels. The link to the interview is below the trailer for Some Like it Hot.

Through all the laughs, the police sirens, gun fire, and broken alcohol bottles, Some Like It Hot reveals the fluidity of the construct of gender, while also revealing the pitfalls of the objectification of women as sex objects. By performing as women, Joe and Jerry are able to immediately understand how women are conditioned to value themselves solely through their sexuality and not through their intellect. Unfortunately, Sugar Kane Kowalczyk does not take the opportunity to grow independently from men, but instead desires to be dependent on a man's wealth, sensibility, and strength. Another film that attempts to provide this opportunity is Donald Petrie’s 1996 film, the Associate, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Dianne Wiest (IMDb). While this film is not as critically acclaimed as Tootsie, the Associate inverts and blurs the gender roles. Overall, I would recommend Some Like It Hot, with the caveat of how the film examines gender roles through the objectification of women (Some Like It Hot).

Works Cited

Raj, Sony. “How to Analyze a Film.” St. Thomas University. Miami Gardens, Flordia. 16 January 2014. Lecture.

Raj, Sony. “Music & Sound in Film.” St. Thomas University. Miami Gardens, Flordia. 30 January 2014. Lecture.

Some Like It Hot. Dir. Billy Wider. Perf. Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Joan Shawlee, Dave Barry. HBO Home Video, 1988. DVD.

Some Like It Hot. The Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc, nd, Web. 27 Jan. 2014. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053291/

The Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, Inc, 2009. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. www.imdb.com