The Seven Year Itch (1955)

"Calomine Won't Work on this One"

If you combine the humorous Walter Mitty-type fantasies with a senario that includes a male writer staying at home for the summer to write, a wife and kid shipped off to avoid the heat, a voluptuous, georgeous new female neighbor that needs to chat, needs advice, and knows just who to ask, and sweltering temperatures in all areas, well, you have one of the funniest of comedies on film. It is not long before we realize the little scenes we often see are in Tom Ewell's head, wishful thinking on his part. Marilyn plays it as only Marylin can. Of course if Tom got to realize any of his fantasies, it would not be the same, and it is the reaching for but not quite grasping, and Marilyn's innocence at not knowing all the havoc she is wreaking in this man's limbic system, that make this film. That and the white-dress scene. October 10, 2008

Monroe was Monroe

The only thing this movie has going for it is Marilyn Monroe, and that's just not enough. Tom Ewell plays a blundering fool who loses his competence at the very sight of her. If there are laughs in this advertised comedy, I must have dozed off at the time.

The setting is New York of a bygone era, complete with Automats and sans universal air conditioning. I lived there then. Ewell's wife and family have gone to the sticks to avoid the summer heat, and Monroe has taken the apartment upstairs. Ewell's mouth falls open at the scent of her, as he tries to woo her into his--his--he's not sure what, but to his lair, for starters.

There's the famous scene of MM standing over the subway grid and having her skirt blow up to reveal her legs. The giant cutout of that on Times Square revealed more than is revealed in the movie. It offended Joe DiMaggio, her husband, but it had little to do with the movie. The one memorable line was the claim that MM kept her daities in the "ice box" during the summer.

The movie is dated, silly and a little embarrassing. Monroe did better. October 3, 2008

Set Traps, Hunt & Fish!

I just watched this movie for the very 1st time on television.... I thought it was fabulously funny in a light/campy sort of way. Lots of typical cliches as this movie pokes fun at the institution of marriage. Husbands are depicted as getting the so called "itch" to chase after women after seven years of marriage.

Great acting by Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell. Lots of funny mishaps and so on make this a great classic film. September 24, 2008

Doesn't quite scratch the itch...

The concept behind `The Seven Year Itch', and in ways even its execution, I really `get', but there is just something about the finished product that feels underdone, or maybe just done wrong. I am new to the Billy Wilder fan club, but I've grown to adore just about every movie he's done. This is the only one of the six I've seen this past month that doesn't sit right with me as a finished product. In parts I love it, but lumped together it just doesn't translate well for me.

The story is one that I think is brilliantly crafted, because it is so much more than a mere tale of attraction. This is a study of the male libido; the lies we tell ourselves to convince ourselves we deserve love and admiration. This is a delicately crafted tale of intentional deceit and for that it deserves some major recognition. The film centers on Richard Sherman, a successful married man who sends his wife and son away for the summer. Unlike his male counterparts, Richard is determined not to fall into the summer fling territory, but then he meets a beautiful blonde staying in his apartment complex for the summer and soon his imagination is going haywire.

The entire film is shot like one long soliloquy, which at times adds to the humor but in the end takes away from the seriousness of the films subject. The ranting of Richard is at times funny and witty and at other times overdone and irritating in its redundancy. This may be due to the fact that actor Tom Ewell is slightly obnoxious in his delivery, but I think that talking every thought and emotion of a character would be hard on any actor.

Marilyn Monroe is without doubt the highlight of the film, for her infectiously bouncy portrayal of the desirable yet unattainable woman is spot on perfection. This was an iconic role for Miss Monroe, one that she will always be remembered for, and with good reason. She captures the naivety and innocence that makes a girl of her nature so desirable, and she serves up some of the funniest moments in the film.

In the end, the idea behind `The Seven Year Itch' is far more rewarding than the finished product. I absolutely adore the concept and believe wholeheartedly in the message. It is honest and rich with purity in its depiction (or attempted depiction) of the `real' man and his struggle with self security. I just wish that the film had been handled differently. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, since it was adapted from a stage play where soliloquy form is much more tolerable and necessary, but that is why film adaptations have to take liberties with material. What plays out as believable and normal even on the stage comes off as awkward and uncomfortable on the screen.

I won't say that you should stay away from this film, just know that it is not as effective as Wilder's other films. It still has that humor he is (was) so famous for, it just doesn't feel as complete or as satisfying as a film like `Some Like it Hot' or `Irma la Douce'. September 10, 2008

The seven Year itch

A movie they had trouble getting made to the fact that at the time it was taboo to show a married man having an affair on screen. In order to get around it they made the whole affair a fantasy in his head. The part the really surprise me about this 1955 movie was that the husband actually cared about his weight and health as that wasn't an issue normally talk about in most movies of 1950s and 1960s like you might have mention in movies today. July 8, 2008

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