Crossdressing Night

Chicago in the ’20s. Jazz musicians Joe and Jerry accidentally witness a bloodbath between rival gangsters and escape by hiding as members of a female orchestra heading for Florida. The pair dress up as women so they can play with the band; then both Joe and Jerry fall head-over-heels for sexy, seemingly naïve Sugar (Monroe), the ukelele-playing lead singer who memorably sings: ‘I wanna be loved by you’.

With Some Like It Hot, Wilder set a new standard for the screwball comedy. He injects even more pace into the absurd dialogue, ramps up the sexual tension, takes maximum advantage of the cross-dressing theme in pointed, hilarious one-liners and makes the storyline into a running gag at breakneck speed about the desire for fame and money.

Consummate comedienne

In spite of difficulties during filming, Monroe's performance is among the best of her career: she demonstrates that she’s the consummate comedienne, and her role as Sugar won her a Golden Globe. This classic tops the American Film Institute’s list of best American comedies of all time.

Preceded by an hour of clips and trailers on crossdressing from films including Ed Wood, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Monsieur Hawarden.