Ferraro - "Some Like It Hot"

"Some Like It Hot" (1959)
Billy Wilder


This week we are viewing how sound anf music work in movies. I picked "Some Like It Hot" since Marilyn Monroe appears to be a good example of sound motifs.

The movie has a jazz theme so saxophones and trombones are used alot, mainly in the opening credits before the whole hubub with the gangsters. Also, the same tune was used for when Marilyn Monroe's character "Candy" first appeared, and when she was walking around while the men were ogling her body. To go along with the jazz, several other instruments were used to match Marylin's movements: a shaker for when she danced during a song, and flutes when she was skimping down the train in the middle of the night. Candy wasn't the only character with her own personal sound effects. The antagonist, played by Geoff Raft, is followed by a boom of a large bass drum as he made his way into the Miami hotel.

The music played often corresponds with the location of the current scene. When the mobsters stop at a funeral home, you hear the sound of an organ, even from across the street. It isn't until the organ-player stops playing and opens a door when the music switches to an upbeat jazz rythym as it leads into a speakeasy with dancing girls. When the band arrives in Miami, a ukalali is being played in the background.

As for regular sound effects, most of them, particuarly in the beginning shoot-out scenes, sounded somewhat unrealistic than what can be heard in modern movies today. They sounded more like they came from a Bugs Bunny cartoon. But most of them were viviant reminders of the current setting. For example, the train scene had the chugging wheels and an occasional train whistle to remind us that they were traveling on a train. And at the beach you always heard wves crashing despite we were watching Sugar and Joe flirt with each other.

A wonderful classic, with fair examples of sound and music.