Plot Summary: After witnessing a Mafia murder, slick saxophone player Joe (Tony Curtis) and his long-suffering buddy, Jerry (Jack Lemmon), improvise a quick plan to escape from Chicago with their lives. Disguising themselves as women, they join an all-female jazz band and hop a train bound for sunny Florida. While Joe pretends to be a millionaire to win the band's sexy singer, Sugar (Marilyn Monroe), Jerry finds himself pursued by a real millionaire (Joe E. Brown) as things heat up and the mobsters close in.
The Stanley Rubric:
Legacy: 8
Impact/Significance: 9
Novelty: 10
Classic-ness: 8
Rewatchability: 7
Audience Score: 9.4
Recognition: Nominated for Best Director, Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, and Art Direction; Won for Best Costume Design; AFI #14/#22
Total: 51.4
Best Performance: Billy Wilder/Jack Lemmon
Best Scene: The Back and Forth between the Two Couples on Their Dates, Bedtime on the Train, Meeting Mr. Shell on the Beach, Running Away from the Mob in the End
Best Line:
Osgood: I called Mama. She was so happy she cried! She wants you to have her wedding gown. It's white lace.
Daphne: Yeah, Osgood. I can't get married in your mother's dress. Ha ha. That-she and I, we are not built the same way.
Osgood: We can have it altered.
Daphne: Oh no you don't! Osgood, I'm gonna level with you. We can't get married at all.
Osgood: Why not?
Daphne: Well, in the first place, I'm not a natural blonde.
Osgood: Doesn't matter.
Daphne: I smoke! I smoke all the time!
Osgood: I don't care.
Daphne: Well, I have a terrible past. For three years now, I've been living with a saxophone player.
Osgood: I forgive you.
Daphne: [Tragically] I can never have children!
Osgood: We can adopt some.
Daphne/Jerry: But you don't understand, Osgood! [Whips off his wig, exasperated, and changes to a manly voice] Uhhh, I'm a man!
Osgood: [Looks at him then turns back, unperturbed] Well, nobody's perfect!
Most Indelible Moment: The Last Line in Summation