Some Like It Hot poster

Some Like It Hot

1959121 minutesApproved
6.2
Arcplot Score
📊 Solid
Unverified
⭐ 8.2IMDb
🍅 95%Rotten Tomatoes
Ⓜ️ 98/100Metacritic
🎬 8.1TMDb
📊 4.2Popularity
🏆Won 1 Oscar. 11 wins & 13 nominations total
Genre: Comedy, Music, Romance
Directed by: Billy Wilder
After two Chicago musicians, Joe and Jerry, witness the the St. Valentine's Day massacre, they want to get out of town and get away from the gangster responsible, Spats Colombo. They're desperate to get a gig out of town but the only job they know of is in an all-girl band heading to Florida. They show up at the train station as Josephine and Daphne, the replacement saxophone and bass players. They certainly enjoy being around the girls, especially Sugar Kane Kowalczyk who sings and plays the ukulele. Joe in particular sets out to woo her while Jerry/Daphne is wooed by a millionaire, Osgood Fielding III. Mayhem ensues as the two men try to keep their true identities hidden and Spats Colombo and his crew show up for a meeting with several other crime lords.

Box Office

Budget:$2.9M
Revenue:$25.0M
Profit:$22.1M

Arcplot Score Breakdown

Beat Timing Precision3/10
Emotional Arc Impact5.5/10
Thematic Consistency10/10
Overall Score6.2/10

Beat Sheet

15 plot points

Some Like It Hot Arcplot
1
Opening Image
1 min
2
Theme Stated
10 min
3
Set-Up
20 min
4
Catalyst
35 min
5
Debate
50 min
6
Break Into Two
60 min
7
B Story
70 min
8
Fun and Games
80 min
9
Midpoint
90 min
10
Bad Guys Close In
100 min
11
All Is Lost
110 min
12
Dark Night of the Soul
115 min
13
Break Into Three
118 min
14
Finale
120 min
15
Final Image
121 min

Emotional Arc

+100-10

Plot Points

#1

Opening Image

1 min

1929 Chicago. Jazz club. Mobsters pursue band members Joe and Jerry. Disguise and chaos immediately introduced. Humor, danger, and energy established.

#2

Theme Stated

10 min

Joe: "We need to survive… and maybe find love." Theme of identity, deception, and romantic pursuit hinted. Survival through ingenuity.

#3

Set-Up

20 min

Joe and Jerry witness gangster shootout. Need to escape. Disguise as women to join all-female band. Meet Sugar Kane. Establish romantic interest and comic tension.

#4

Catalyst

35 min

Joe and Jerry flee Chicago dressed as women. Enter new environment: Miami. Comedy arises from cross-dressing and mistaken identities. Stakes: maintain cover, win love.

#5

Debate

50 min

Can Joe and Jerry maintain disguises without being discovered? Romantic complications grow. Risk of mobsters and exposure. Inner conflict: honesty vs. survival.

#6

Break Into Two

60 min

Joe pursues Sugar romantically. Jerry attracted to millionaire Osgood. Full commitment to new identities. Comedy intensifies as situations escalate.

#7

B Story

70 min

Sugar Kane dreams of love, naive and vulnerable. Themes of desire, romantic fantasy, and deception explored. Friendship dynamics between Joe and Jerry deepen.

#8

Fun and Games

80 min

Escalating comedic situations: hotel shenanigans, romantic misadventures, near-reveals. Humor, timing, and slapstick. Audience engagement peaks.

#9

Midpoint

90 min

Mobsters arrive in Miami, tension rises. Threat of exposure looms. False defeat: disguises nearly blown. Stakes maximum: comedy + danger merge.

#10

Bad Guys Close In

100 min

Joe’s dual identity stressed. Sugar suspicious. Jerry’s millionaire romance faces obstacles. Personal and external pressures converge.

#11

All Is Lost

110 min

Disguises almost revealed. Romantic tension peaks. Risk of heartbreak and failure.

#12

Dark Night of the Soul

115 min

Joe contemplates honesty and love. Jerry wonders if deception has gone too far. Reflection on morality, identity, and desire.

#13

Break Into Three

118 min

Final comedic strategy: maintain cover, resolve romantic entanglements, outwit mobsters. Plans in motion.

#14

Finale

120 min

Climactic resolution: mobsters defeated or diverted. Joe and Sugar reconcile. Jerry and Osgood’s unexpected marriage accepted. Humor and romance triumph.

#15

Final Image

121 min

Joe and Sugar on beach. Jerry wedded to Osgood. Comedy, love, and chaos resolved. Iconic final shot: happiness through ingenuity and disguise.