Some Like It Hot

by Steven Cohan

Billy Wilder's classic screwball comedy Some Like it Hot (1959), starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe, tells the story of two struggling Jazz musicians who accidentally witness a mob massacre in Chicago who then, disguised as women, join a female band to escape the gangsters' pursuit. Despite the film's popular reception, with Academy Award nominations for Wilder and star Jack Lemmon, the film gained notoriety for its crossdressing plot and gender-bending comedy.

Steven Cohan's study of the film disentangles its production history and subsequent notoriety from the film itself, reconsidering the ways in which it playfully challenged generic and gender conventions of the 1950s. He provides an in depth analysis of the film's near perfect comedic structure, Wilder's aesthetic choices and self-reflexive star performances by Curtis, Lemmon and Monroe.

He goes on to consider the film's queerness, as well as its promotion and reception in 1959. Contextualizing the film within its contemporary moment, he argues its textual richness, one that allows it to be viewed differently across generations, securing its lasting influence in popular culture.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

104 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2025

About the author

Steven Cohan is Dean’s Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Syracuse University.

Reviews

[David Sterritt]

“Some Like It Hot” is a terrific movie, and Steven Cohan’s eponymous monograph is a readable and enjoyable plunge into some of the issues it raises, most notably in its frolicking with gender, which was surprisingly progressive for 1959, the year of its release and my own first viewing. The book isn’t as much fun as the film, but hey, nobody’s perfect.

[Dorian Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights into a masterpiece of queer cinema. “Well, nobody’s perfect”