Tony Curtis Tribute at the Million Dollar Theatre

This past Saturday, June 13th the Jules Verne Film Festival hosted a Tribute to Tony Curtis.  As part of the event there was a screening of SOME LIKE IT HOT on Saturday night.  Since I collect vintage clothing, I was asked along with others in the vintage scene to wear one of my gowns and pose in front of the theatre.  They even had a big line of vintage cars there too.  I feel SO fortunate that this was my 2nd time in the past month to get to see a movie in this theatre!! 


Before the film, Tony Curtis was brought out on stage where he received a standing ovation and answered some questions.  I found the Q&A to be rather frustrating, as he never really gave a straight answer to any of the questions asked.  He sort of rambled and got off topic constantly, but considering that he recently turned 84 years old, it is understandable.  It was neat to see him live and in person.  I’ve now seen Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Jane Russell and Gloria Stewart up close and in person.  Living in Los Angeles certainly has it’s advantages!


The lights went out and SOME LIKE IT HOT was magnificent.  Every time I see a familiar film on the big screen, I always notice little things I hadn’t noticed before.  That was certainly the case here.  The dialogue in this film is so fast and funny.  I first saw SOME LIKE IT HOT on TV when I was in high school and my entire focus was on Marilyn Monroe.  I was very fascinated with her and she just took 100% of my attention.  Everything else was a blur.  The real revelation of the film this time around was Jack Lemmon. I think out of everyone in the cast, he seems to have the most fun and greatest sense of abandon.  He also makes a great comic sidekick for Tony Curtis, who is clearly imitating Cary Grant through much of the film.  What also struck me was how much more is going on below the surface of the story.  There are so many observations about love, acceptance and relationships wrapped up in the comic situations. 


Billy Wilder was one of the greatest screenwriters who ever lived and his movies always have such a sparkle and sophistication that modern day film is lacking entirely.  He was also such a versatile writer/director who could tackle just about any material from comedy to drama to film noir.  I was gushing to a fellow cinephile earlier today about Wilder and he said, “Well, SOME LIKE IT HOT is one of Wilder’s lesser films.“  I said, “I disagree but in any case I would gladly take a lesser Wilder film over the greatest work from most other directors.“  I’ve gone to the Academy library and read through some of Wilder’s telegrams and personal letters and even those are entertaining.  Wilder is buried at the Westwood Cemetery which is also where Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon are buried as well.  His graves bears the words, “I was a writer, but then again nobody’s perfect.“  While that may be true, to me Wilder is as close to perfection as it gets.

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