Pre-production
Billy Wilder wrote the script for the film with writer I. A. L. Diamond.[9] The plot was based on a screenplay by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan for the 1935 French film Fanfare of Love.[10] The original script for Fanfare of Love was untraceable, so Walter Mirisch found a copy of the 1951 German remake, Fanfares of Love. He bought the rights to that script, and Wilder worked with this to produce a new story.[10] Both films follow the story of two musicians in search of work,[9] but Wilder created the gangster subplot that keeps the musicians on the run.[11]
The studio hired female impersonator Barbette to coach Lemmon and Curtis on gender illusion for the film.[10] Monroe worked for 10 percent of the gross in excess of $4 million, Curtis for 5 percent of the gross over $2 million, and Wilder for 17.5 percent of the first million after break-even and 20 percent thereafter.[12]
Casting
Tony Curtis was spotted by Billy Wilder while he was making the film Houdini (1953),[13] and he thought Curtis would be perfect for the role of Joe. "I was sure Tony was right for it", said Wilder, "because he was quite handsome, and when he tells Marilyn that he is one of the Shell Oil family, she has to be able to believe it".[14] Wilder's first idea for the role of Jerry was Frank Sinatra, but he did not come to the audition.[15] Jerry Lewis and Danny Kaye were also considered for the role of Jerry. Finally, Wilder saw Lemmon in the comedy Operation Mad Ball[16] and selected him for the part. Wilder and Lemmon would go on to make numerous films together, including The Apartment and several films which also included Walter Matthau.
According to York Film Notes, Wilder and Diamond did not expect a star as big as Marilyn Monroe to take the part of Sugar.[9] "Mitzi Gaynor was who we had in mind", Wilder said. "The word came that Marilyn wanted the part and then we had to have Marilyn."[17] Wilder and Monroe had made the film The Seven Year Itch together in 1955.
It was George Raft's first "A" picture in a number of years.[18]
Filming
Hotel del Coronado (2011)The film was made in California during the summer and autumn of 1958.[19] AFI reported the production dates between early August and November 12, 1958, at Samuel Goldwyn Studios.[20] Many scenes were shot at the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, California, which appeared as the "Seminole Ritz Hotel" in Miami in the film, as it fit into the era of the 1920s and was near Hollywood. The Mirisch Company was the film's presenter, and producer Walter Mirisch employed several crew members from his home base, the Allied Artists studio.
There were many problems with Marilyn Monroe, who lacked concentration and suffered from an addiction to pills. She was constantly late to set, and could not memorize many of her lines, averaging 35–40 takes for a single line according to Tony Curtis.[21] The line "It's me, Sugar" took 47 takes to get correct because Monroe kept getting the word order wrong, saying either "Sugar, it's me" or "It's Sugar, me". Curtis and Lemmon made bets during the filming on how many takes she would need to get it right.[22] Three days were scheduled for shooting the scene with Shell Jr. and Sugar at the beach, as Monroe had many complicated lines, but the scene was finished in only 20 minutes.[23] Monroe's acting coach Paula Strasberg and Monroe's husband Arthur Miller both tried to influence the production, which Wilder and other crew members found annoying.[24][25]
Wilder spoke in 1959 about making another film with Monroe: "I have discussed this with my doctor and my psychiatrist and they tell me I'm too old and too rich to go through this again."[26] But Wilder also admitted: "My Aunt Minnie would always be punctual and never hold up production, but who would pay to see my Aunt Minnie?"[27] He also stated that Monroe played her part wonderfully.[28] Years later, Wilder noted "I think there are more books on Marilyn Monroe than there are on World War 2, and there's a great similarity."[29]
The film's closing line, "Well, nobody's perfect", is ranked 78th on The Hollywood Reporter list of Hollywood's 100 Favorite Movie Lines, but it was never supposed to be in the final cut. Diamond and Wilder put it in the script as a "placeholder" until they could come up with something better, but they never did.[30] Wilder's tombstone pays homage to the line by reading, "I'm a writer, but then, nobody's perfect". In 2000, The Guardian ranked the closing scene at No. 10 on their list of "The top 100 film moments".[31]
Style
With regard to sound design, there is a "strong musical element"[9] in the film, with the soundtrack created by Adolph Deutsch. It has an authentic 1920s jazz feel using sharp, brassy strings to create tension in certain moments, for example whenever Spats's gangsters appear. In terms of cinematography and aesthetics, Wilder chose to shoot the film in black and white as Lemmon and Curtis in full drag costume and make-up looked "unacceptably grotesque" in early color tests.[9] Despite Monroe's contract requiring the film to be in color, she agreed to it being filmed in black and white after seeing that Curtis and Lemmon's makeup gave them a "ghoulish" appearance on color film.[32] Orry-Kelly who was in charge of costume design created the costumes for Monroe[33][34] as well as Lemmon and Curtis,[35] after the stock costumes the studio provided for the male leads fit poorly.
