'Some Like It Hot' Comes to the Big Screen at WHBPAC

The 1959 classic American comedy film “Some Like It Hot,” starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, will be shown on the big screen at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center (WHBPAC) this Thursday, August 17, at 7:30 p.m.

“Rarely do you get to see a film like this on the big screen like it was intended to be shown,” said Andrew Botsford, who will host a post-screening discussion of the movie with Laurence Maslon, the author of the 2009 book, “Some Like It Hot: The Official 50th Anniversary Companion.”

“It’s one of America’s great film directors [Billy Wilder] working at the height of his powers and it is brilliantly constructed,” Maslon said. “It almost writes itself and it has the most iconic representation of sexuality in America: Marylin Monroe.”

Maslon is well versed on the history and background surrounding the film, as he wrote the official companion book on its 50th anniversary. Maslon also hosts “Broadway to Main Street,” a radio program on WLIW-FM and recently released his newest book, “I’ll Drink to That! Broadway’s Legendary Stars, Classic Shows, and the Cocktails They Inspired.”

“I grew up on Long Island in the 1960s and ’70s and they would show [‘Some Like It Hot’] very frequently as the 4:30 movie in the afternoon,” Maslon recalled. “I remember being 10 or 11 and thinking it was a total hoot before even knowing Marilyn [Monroe].”

“Some Like It Hot” was made in 1959, but the film was set in 1929, and according to Maslon filming in black and white was a specific aesthetic choice that was made in order to set this comedy apart from other films of its time.

The film follows two Chicago musicians — Joe (Curtis) and Jerry (Lemmon) — who witness the St. Valentine’s Day massacre and become desperate to get out of town and away from those responsible for the violence. However, the only gig that they know of is with an all-girl band heading to Florida on a train. So, the two male musicians dress as women, join the group and attempt to keep their real identities a secret while living amongst the group of female performers.

“Two guys escape being killed by a group of gangsters by going in drag,” Maslon said as a quick synopsis of the film. “Drag has become a pretty loaded topic politically. I don’t even know if you can screen the movie in Tennessee, but between all of these mainstream people like Rue Paul [who do drag], it is not that [uncommon or surprising] anymore.”

“Some Like It Hot” has also found its way to Broadway and is currently running at the Schubert Theatre in the form of a 2022 show with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman, and a book by Matthew López and Amber Ruffin.

Maslon believes that the film version of “Some Like It Hot” was never meant to offer a serious commentary on the state of crime or gender in the United States, yet given the current political climate in which drag shows are being regulated in certain parts of the country, the Broadway production has altered the narrative and reintroduced the topic into the conversation. This is one way that the message of the film has shifted and become something quite different than it was at the time of its release in the 1950s.

The companion book that Maslon wrote for “Some Like It Hot” includes details of how the movie was made, the conflict that director Billy Wilder had with Marilyn Monroe, and other people who were almost cast in the film. According to Maslon, the movie contains themes of gang violence, warfare, and the history of drag, all while staying true to form as a comedy.

“It is important in the way that ‘The Godfather’ is, in that it engenders ongoing conversations,” he said. “There is not much that I would change in the original film, but that we have changed in the Broadway production.

“It is a comedy and was never meant to be a narrative on gender fluidity or crime in America.”

For his part, Botsford has been offering movie commentary at WHBPAC’s Tuesday night film screenings for 17 years. Because he does not usually decide what films are screened, he often invites authors, screenwriters or other guests who know more about the movie to take part in the post-screening discussions.

Maslon has been a recurring guest for post-film discussions with Botsford at WHBPAC, and the two have been wanting to host a screening and conversation about “Some Like It Hot” since before COVID-19 surfaced. However, the pandemic changed those plans and put them on the back burner.

But when Botsford learned of the play adaptation of “Some Like It Hot,” the relevance of the film came back to the forefront of conversation. He saw the current Broadway run as an opportunity to pitch the film for one of the slots at WHBPAC. But with all the Tuesday screening dates already booked this summer, Botsford pushed for the film to be shown on a different date — Thursday, August 17.

“If it goes well, I think it will show the people of PAC that there is an audience for classic films, not just for [‘Some Like It Hot’], but also for general classic films,” Botsford said. “A lot of older people like myself like to see the older films brought back, hear how they were made, and who else was considered for each part.”

In preparation for the post screening conversations of the films he hosts, Botsford does background research and reads some reviews of the films. However, he warns against anyone who plans on attending these screenings from doing the same.

“Do not read reviews and do not read background,” Botsford advised. “We are better off receiving films on a blank slate.”

At the end of every film conversation, Botsford likes to review what he and the audience both liked and disliked about the movie. Afterward, he reads a review of the film written by someone who loved it and another by someone who hated it.

“Both of those people saw the same film, but their reviews were completely different,” he said. “It gets in your head and it [implies] that there is a standard that should be in your head,” Botsford said. “I like to point that out at the end of every film.”

“Some Like It Hot” will screened at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Thursday, August 17, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $13 at whbpac.org. Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center is located at 76 Main Street, Westhampton Beach.