Behind the effortless glamour of Some Like It Hot, one of the most beloved comedies ever made, there was a production filled with tension, exhaustion, and emotional chaos. The 1959 Billy Wilder classic looks light, sparkling, and perfectly timed on screen, but for Tony Curtis, one particular moment with Marilyn Monroe became a memory he reportedly wished could be erased forever.
That moment was the famous yacht kissing scene between Curtis and Monroe. In the film, Curtis plays Joe, a struggling musician who disguises himself as a woman to escape danger, then later pretends to be a wealthy heir in order to charm Monroe’s character, Sugar Kane. The scene was designed to be seductive, funny, and glamorous, with Sugar trying to awaken passion in Curtis’ supposedly cold millionaire persona. On screen, it became one of the film’s most iconic romantic-comedy beats. Behind the camera, however, Curtis remembered it as a nightmare.
According to the story, the kiss required more than 40 takes, with Curtis enduring what he described as an agonizingly repetitive filming process. Monroe, already struggling with severe anxiety during production, reportedly had difficulty remembering lines and hitting marks. The pressure only grew as the set waited through repeated delays, retakes, and long interruptions. What should have been a simple romantic scene became, in Curtis’ memory, a draining test of patience.
His frustration later spilled into one of the most infamous insults in Hollywood lore. Curtis complained that kissing Monroe in that scene felt far from magical, comparing the experience to kissing a dictator. It was a shocking remark, especially because Monroe was widely viewed by audiences as the ultimate symbol of beauty and desire. Yet Curtis’ words reflected not the finished scene, but the chaotic conditions that surrounded it.
Monroe’s difficulties on set were well known. She was often late, sometimes by hours, and her anxiety could make even brief scenes painfully difficult to complete. For her co-stars and director Billy Wilder, the delays were exhausting. For Monroe, the situation was likely just as painful. She was under immense pressure to appear effortless, charming, and irresistible while privately fighting insecurity and emotional strain.
The irony is that none of this turmoil damaged the final result. Monroe’s performance as Sugar Kane remains one of the most radiant of her career. She appears vulnerable, funny, sweet, and completely magnetic. Audiences never saw the repeated takes, the waiting, or the frustration. They only saw the magic.
Some Like It Hot went on to become a major success, earning around $14 million at the box office and securing its place as a permanent classic. Curtis may have remembered the yacht kiss as a 40-take disaster, but cinema history remembers it differently: as one of the unforgettable moments that helped make Marilyn Monroe immortal.