Goodbye, Tony Curtis

June 3, 1925 - September 29, 2010Check out our previous Tony Curtis posts.

Must-See Movie: Sex and the Single Girl

Sex and the Single Girl (1964)

Starring our most recent "Va Va Voom" Star of the Day, Natalie Wood, as well as Tony Curtis, this film premiered a year before "The Great Race," that also starred the attractive duo. This 1960's sex romp is another comedic delight. Tony Curtis plays Bob Weston, a writer for paparazzi rag "Dirt." He is working on an article on research psychologist Helen Gurley Brown (Natalie Wood) and her best-selling book Sex and the Single Girl. Bob needs to interview Helen, but she refuses to see him, knowing he's questioning if she "is or is not" one to give authority on sex and could therby ruin her credibility.

Bob impersonates his neighbor, Frank Broderick (Henry Fonda), as a ruse in order to see her on the pretext of marital counseling. After several meetings, Bob attempts to seduce her. Hilarity ensues when Helen asks to meet "his" wife, and Bob mistakenly sends both his secretary, Susan (Leslie Parrish), and his ex-girlfriend Gretchen (Fran Jeffries) to see Helen -- both impersonating Sylvia. But even more confusing is that Helen finds out who the real Mrs. Broderick is (Lauren Bacall) and asks her to appear in her office.

When the real Sylvia arrives the office at the same time as the two other women, Sylvia has Frank put in jail for bigamy. By this point, Helen has realized Bob's trickery and has also discovered who he really is. She leaves town with her colleague Rudy DeMeyer (Mel Ferrer). A wild chase ensues as the bickering couples try to catch up with each other to apologize.

Helen Gurley Brown's self-help best-seller of the same name was the original source for this film, a novel that has been hailed as the predecessor to "Sex and the City." This film begins as your typical 60's sex comedy, but then takes a hysterical slapstick turn in the third act, especially each time people tell Bob he resembles Jack Lemmon. With startling cameos, quick dialogue, and gorgeous Natalie Wood, this film is a fluffy 100-plus minutes that takes a comedic peek in to the lives of the 60's single girls.

Must-See Movie: Some Like It Hot

Some Like It Hot (1959)
Jerry (Jack Lemmon) and Joe (Tony Curtis) are two struggling musicians who witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and try to find a way out of the city before they are found and gunned down by mob boss Spats Colombo. The only job that will pay their way is an all-girl band that is fortunately heading to Florida. Desperate, the two dress up as women and hop on the train as Josephine (Curtis) and Daphne (Lemmon). There they meet Sugar (played by Marilyn Monroe), and both men are smitten by her.

In Florida, they run in to more trouble, as Joe finds himself pretending to be a millionaire to get Sugar's attention, and Jerry must fight off Osgood, a rich suitor who is bent on marrying "Daphne." This creates one of the most hilarious moments in cinematic history, when Jerry, after hours of doing the tango with Osgood, returns to tell Joe "I'm engaged." Joe is thrilled, and asks who the lucky lady is. Jerry proclaims, "I am!"

Things get even more complicated, however, when mobster Spats Colombo and his associates arrive at the very same hotel, and Jerry and Joe must scramble to keep their identity hidden from the wise guys and simultaneously keep up the charade with Sugar and the rest of the band.

This movie may not have been the first cross-dressing movie, but it is definitely the pinnacle of the genre. The many clever innuendos and double-entendres that highlight the differences between men and women make this movie a hilarious and classic comedy. There is an even mixture between lowbrow and highbrow comedy, and even some slapstick is thrown in. But the greatest part is Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon working at least two roles apiece, and playing with the different genders. Just the expression on Curtis and Lemmon's faces as they try to make their way down the train platform in heels...there is an obvious struggle as they walk, but they are both so naturally buoyant that it makes the performance even more incredible.

Greatest Pie Fight in Film Ever!

From the 1965 film (and a previous Must-Rent Movie) The Great Race.

Must-See Movie: The Great Race

The Great Race (1965)
The greatest Blake Edwards' film of all time, this movie is packed with stars and the best moments in cinematic history. Sparkly-eyed, immaculate, and white-toothed daredevil, The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis) convinces turn-of-the-century auto makers to hold a race from New York to Paris. Leslie's nemesis, the mustached and shifty-eyed Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a wacky car of his own, along with his dim-witted sidekick (Peter Falk). Along the way they meet a voluptuous suffragette (Natalie Wood), are engaged in a huge old-fashioned Western bar fight, fall into a Man in the Iron Mask-type plot, and have a hand in the largest pie fight ever staged on film.

Infused with typical 60's sexual innuendo, Tony Curtis plays the straight man as he woos Natalie Wood cross-country with his cheeky debonair winks (accentuated by the perfect "ping!" sound effects). He fences like Errol Flynn, competes like a gentleman, and stays pristinely white throughout the journey.

The classic status of this movie, however, is due largely to the slapstick -- very reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy. The chemistry between Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk as bumbling baddies is the paradigm of comedy from the time period in which it's framed. Professor Fate is your archetypal early 20th century villian, twirling his black curly mustache. Then he goes from gravelly sneering villian to giggly, child-like royalty with a dual role as the Prince of Pottsdorf. Fate's assistant Max is the superlative performance of Falk. His talent to use his shortcomings is exemplified, as his squinty-eyed face hunchily searches for Fate with that trademark "Pro-fess-ah!!"

Supported by Keenan Wynn, Vivian Vance, Larry Storch, Dorothy Provine, and a plethora of other fabulous character actors, the movie is unlike anything you've seen in Hollywood to date.