Billy Wilder reveals the scene that took Marilyn Monroe 80 takes: “She couldn’t get it”
Marilyn Monroe made dozens of movies during her career, but few would argue that Billy Wilder managed to get more out of the star than anyone else, with both of their collaborations standing among the actor’s finest work.
One of the biggest difficulties Monroe faced was trying to prove herself as a serious actor, something Hollywood didn’t want to make easy. Because she was so marketable as a sex symbol, and that’s how she could be used to generate the most amount of money on any production, very rarely was she allowed to stretch herself as a performer in the way she wanted to.
The first major award win of her career came when Monroe was named ‘Best Actress – Musical or Comedy’ at the Golden Globes, and it’s no surprise it was with Wilder at the helm of Some Like It Hot. In fact, that was the only notable accolade she attained, but the filmmaker had to show plenty of perseverance to bring out her best.
The six-time Oscar winner admitted that it was difficult coaxing Monroe out of her shell initially, but once the switch was flicked and the demure Norma Jeane Mortenson was replaced by the industry’s marquee blonde bombshell, she fully embodied the star power and mythology that had been built around her.
The Seven Year Itch was the first sign they were a match made in heaven, but Some Like It Hot took it to another level. One of the greatest studio comedies of all time, the central trio of Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon are all in sparkling form in a timeless classic that remains as eminently rewatchable as ever.
It was far from a case of Monroe turning up and knocking it out of the park, though, with Wilder admitting that sometimes she required a number of takes so high it could make David Fincher and Stanley Kubrick blush. Not only that, but he prefaced it by denying Audrey Hepburn needed dozens of attempts to master a scene before revealing just how many it took Monroe.
“26 takes? Audrey Hepburn? 26? No,” he said incredulously about a rumour started by his old nemesis Humphrey Bogart. “That was Marilyn Monroe, before we could get the line straight. Just a little line like, ‘Where’s that bourbon?’. She couldn’t get it.”
Thanks to his persistence and her undeniable star wattage, she was allowed the leeway to get there in the end. “That was 80 takes or something,” he admitted, per Vanity Fair. “You have to remember, when a man muffs a line and they do it again and again and again then you replace him, because he plays a small part. Marilyn was the star. She does the takes because it’s going to be in the picture.”
80 takes for three words of dialogue sounds excessive, but like Wilder suggests, it’s not as if Monroe was in danger of being replaced.
