Tony Curtis saying kissing Marilyn was like 'kissing Hitler?'
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stevenbyczek — 15 years ago(May 08, 2010 03:52 PM)
Very interesting! Thank you very much!
I agree. Jack's point of view had more credibility than Tony's. Considering the fact that Jack was in the same room with Tony when the comment was madeJack was the best judge (regarding if Tony said it, his tone of voice when he said it, what he probably meant when he said it, etc). Unfortunately, Jack is deceased, and no longer available for interviews.
Cheers! -
lorrie152 — 15 years ago(May 11, 2010 07:18 AM)
I'm a huge Marilyn Monroe fan, but I always look at the bigger picture when it comes to analyzing this comment.
Marilyn, at this point in her life, was practically unbareable to work with. Never on set and when she was, she would refuse to come out of her dressing room (due to stage fright, not because of arrogance) Jack and Tony had to suffer endless retakes of scenes, sometimes suffering through countless retakes of simple lines such as "it's me Sugar." They were left waiting all day in full make up and heels. She was always so distracted on set, while Jack and Tony had to make sure each of their scenes were PERFECT, because as soon as Marilyn got it right, that's what was going to go to print, regardless of Jack and Tony's preformance.. and that's a lot of pressure for any actor to be under. As much as I love her, she can't have been easy to work with and in a way, I can understand Tony making such a hurtful comment. We've all become mad at people we work with for various reasons.
However, I simply do NOT agree with the blatant lies Tony Curtis has been spreading lately, claiming Marilyn was pregnant with his child during the filming of 'Some Like It Hot.' It's not fair as she is no longer around to defend herself. He should be ashamed of himself.
That's my rant over lol. -
stevenbyczek — 15 years ago(May 11, 2010 08:56 PM)
I agree. Almost everybody who starred in a film with Marilyn said she could be extremely difficult to work with. Clark Gable was extremely grateful when they finished filming: "The Misfits" (1961). Regarding working with her, he said: "she damn near gave me a heart attack", and less than two weeks later, had a fatal heart attack in real life.
I think Tony Curtis probably meant what he said due to a combination of stress, and frustration. Marilyn's reputation for being cold and distant, and having to re-shoot several scenes umpteen times, including the kissing scenes on the yaht, didn't help, either. I think he has retracted, and/or changed what he said over the years because he feels guilty for the "Hitler" comparison. After Marilyn's death, many movie buffs elevated her to the level of: "superstar", but back in 1959, when "Some Like it Hot" was produced, she was a just a "blond bombshell/sex symbol", and not half as famous as she is now world-wide. -
PillowRock — 15 years ago(May 21, 2010 02:25 PM)
Oh, Marilyn was a pretty significant star in the late 1950s.
Actors who are "
just
a blond bombshell" don't keep getting hired for major productions after they start creating as many problems on the set as Marylin was creating at the time. Heck, if they start doing that from the beginning of shooting, a "just a bombshell" actress wouldn't get to finish that picture. You can always get another "just a bombshell" type, if that's all you've got to start with. -
TheConsensusOpinion — 15 years ago(November 04, 2010 11:35 AM)
"Oh, Marilyn was a pretty significant star in the late 1950s."
And you're not just whistling Dixie there, PillowRock!
Marilyn, of course, now has eclipsed virtually every star who ever lived; her fame knows no bounds. But, she was absolutely a star of the highest order well before the end of her life.
Remember, she received the equivalent (in today's money) of nearly TWENTY MILLION dollars for her role in SLIH. That's on par with what the most well-paid modern actors receive.
Still, MM never really cared about money at all. She could have pulled a coup like Liz Taylor did and tossed out ridiculous demands such as the one million dollars Taylor received (for an abysmal performance, I might add) in Cleopatra. But her ego did not allow for this type of vulgarity.
It is my firm belief that, had MM lived, she'd today be talked about with the greatest actors of all time (as opposed to 'screen presence' or 'star'). She did have the talent. It's there, in flashes, and bits of brilliance here and there, if anyone cares to look for it even on screen.
But, as Lee Strasberg said in MM's eulogy, her greatest acting triumphs came in studio and on stage where the harshest of all critics witnessed her gargantuan talent. It's such a shame that more of that wasn't captured on film for us to witness today.
Yet, what is there is absolute magic. Anyone who knows the craft understands the reality of this.
PS To be fair to her, I should mention that I absolutely adore Liz Taylor in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' this, too, is a truly great performance (and one of my all-time favorites). -
PillowRock — 15 years ago(February 07, 2011 02:25 PM)
It is my firm belief that, had MM lived, she'd today be talked about with the greatest actors of all time
I think that there needs to be one more caveat in there. Beyond simply not dying, she would have had to have overcome / gotten past at least some of her self-doubt and insecurity, which seemed to be the root of most her more self destructive tendencies.
Even if she had survived, those self destructive habits seemed well on their way to wrecking her career. Once she had aged to the point where onscreen magic by itself no longer provided box office results (and it would have happened) her "hard to work with" habits would no longer have been tolerated. She would have needed to get that stuff under control in order to maintain her career.
And, yes, I agree that there was some serious acting talent in Marylin. -
cluvonj — 15 years ago(October 04, 2010 01:27 PM)
I just watched the commentary on Some LIke It Hot and Tony states there that he was told she was pregnant, that he did not know if she was or not. He never states anything about it being his child. I've never heard or read that myself. He even said he didn't know if she lost the baby or had an abortion. I'm not sure when the interview was recorded but I don't believe Tony would have said that.
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unapologetic_mocker — 14 years ago(June 02, 2011 09:24 PM)
I just watched the commentary on Some LIke It Hot and Tony states there that he was told she was pregnant, that he did not know if she was or not. He never states anything about it being his child. I've never heard or read that myself. He even said he didn't know if she lost the baby or had an abortion. I'm not sure when the interview was recorded but
I don't believe Tony would have said that
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by - cluvonj on Mon Oct 4 2010 13:27:58
He not only said it, he published it.
He talks about their relationship at length in his book
Some Like It Hot: Me, Marilyn and the Movie
. The truth in his account of events and the accuracy of his recollections can of course be questioned, but he did say it. -
cluvonj — 9 years ago(February 05, 2017 07:01 AM)
Yes I saw another interview with him and he stated he said it in gest and that it was taken seriously and blown out of proportion. It was on TCM I think I saw the interview where he speaks this. I had another comment later on in this thread on October 2, 2010 where I stated more on that.
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richimorton — 15 years ago(October 01, 2010 02:14 PM)
Classic case of screen star ego & rejection . He probably tried to shag her during filming - unsuccesfully - which led to this bitter comment . That's me reading between the lines anyway .
Oh God i'm so sorry Tony - R.I.P. - U.K. TV is playing this film right now as a tribute , a genuine star , as was Marilyn .
That which does not Kill me makes me Stranger
. . . -
huweyjenkins — 15 years ago(June 04, 2010 04:31 AM)
Poor Marilyn. She was absolutely incandescent and compelling to watch onscreen but I believe she may have been a huge pain to work with. Mostly not her fault - she was psychologically unwell. However Billy Wilder is on record as saying that he would go through all the trauma of working with her again as she was pure gold onscreen. This was said quite a while afterward though when distance held enchantment.
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rrb — 15 years ago(October 02, 2010 08:28 AM)
Not her fault? At what point does her behavior become her responsibility? If she found her work so distressful that she disrupted filming on a routine basis, she could have found another way to pay the bills.
That said, I don't deny her talent. For example, in The Prince & the Showgirl, she plainly outshines the legendary Olivier. He comes across as a ham, while Marilyn is a gemnatural, endearing, a brilliant comedienne, and on top of it all, absolutely ravishing.
Like Wilder, Olivier found the agony of working with her justified by the results. When co-star Sybil Thorndike complained about her, he said, "Just watch the rushes, darling." Thorndike had to admit that Marilyn was brilliant on screen, and if anything, Dame Sybil herself was an "old fogey." -
ilzamaria — 15 years ago(September 30, 2010 11:17 AM)
"After the scene some of the crew and I stood around to watch the rushes,
and they wanted to know what it was like to kiss her.
I figured a question that stupid deserved a stupid answer,
so I flippantly replied:
'Kissing Marilyn is like kissing Hitler.'
I was right it was a stupid answer.
What I should have said was: 'What do you think kissing her is like, birdbrain?'"
I'm in love with her now. I've loved her all these years." -
cluvonj — 15 years ago(October 04, 2010 01:31 PM)
I know that I have heard Tony in interviews say that he felt it was obvious that kissing her would be wonderful so he was being sarcastic when he said that quote. He also said you have to be careful what you say for the press will run with it and twist.
To me it would also be obvious that it was sarcastic and even if Jack Lemmon said he sounded serious still could mean he said it seriously yet still be sarcastic. I dont see a reason why he would even if she had been problematic on the set for him to have made that statement literally. He has been nothing but complimentary toward her in interviews in the 90s up to the present. -
scorseseholic — 15 years ago(December 17, 2010 12:03 PM)
Yes, he was being sarcastic. In an interview I saw with him on TCM or maybe even on the extra footage on the DVD, I can't remember, but it was pretty obvious that he thoroughly enjoyed kissing Marilyn. He called her "naughty" because she would kiss him passionately until he got aroused and would then abrubtly walk away.
"Dolores, I have five days to complete this picture. Don't get goofy on me."