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A 8x10" vintage photo from a massive estate collection of original movie stills and publicity photos.
Photo Overview
Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon share a candid, joyful moment on the beach in this classic movie still from the 1959 Billy Wilder comedy "Some Like It Hot." Both are wearing 1920s-era bathing suits as their characters - Monroe as Sugar Kane and Lemmon as "Daphne" (Jerry) - in one of the film\'s iconic Coronado Beach sequences. Monroe is laughing radiantly while Lemmon, in full female drag, holds a towel between them. Extras and beach scenery are visible in the background, capturing the sun-drenched atmosphere of the shoot at the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, California.
This 8x10 black and white still is numbered 3386 in the lower left corner, indicating it is a studio-issued production still. The photo was part of the collection of the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a beloved independent cinema that screened "Some Like It Hot" on December 5, 1995 as part of a series titled "What a Drag!"
Historical Notes
"Some Like It Hot" was released on March 29, 1959, and became one of the most celebrated comedies in cinema history. The American Film Institute ranked it the greatest American comedy film of all time in 2000. The film earned six Academy Award nominations, with Jack Lemmon receiving a Best Actor nod. For Monroe, the production was famously difficult - she was frequently late to set and required dozens of takes for simple scenes, testing the patience of Wilder and her co-stars. Despite the turmoil, her performance as Sugar Kane is considered one of her finest. Monroe would make only one more completed film, "The Misfits" (1961), before her tragic death on August 5, 1962, at age 36. Jack Lemmon went on to become one of Hollywood\'s most decorated actors, winning two Academy Awards over his career. The Hotel del Coronado, where the beach scenes were filmed, still trades on its connection to the movie and remains a major tourist destination. The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, which once held this photo in its collection, continues to operate as one of America\'s most cherished repertory cinemas.
Text Present
Front, lower left corner: 3386
Back, upper portion - Brattle Theatre header:
40 BRATTLE STREET - CAMB - 876-6837
BRATTLE THEATRE
Back, center - handwritten in cursive: Please return
Back, center right - typed label:
Jack Lemmon & Marilyn Monroe in
"SOME LIKE IT HOT"
at the Brattle Theatre
Tuesday, December 5, 1995
What a Drag!
Back, bottom:
running arts
P.O. BOX 391 - CAMBRIDGE MA 02139 - 876-6708
Print analysis
This is a later photographic print of a 1959 movie still, likely produced in the 1990s for the Brattle Theatre\'s screening series. The photo has a clean, high-contrast appearance on glossy paper, consistent with modern darkroom printing from original studio negatives or copy negatives. The Brattle Theatre label dates to December 1995, establishing when this print was in active use. The studio code number 3386 in the lower left is typical of United Artists/Mirisch Company production stills. This is classified as a Type 2 photo - printed from original or copy negatives decades after the original 1959 production. The print itself dates to approximately the early-to-mid 1990s.
Condition
Good to excellent vintage condition. Some of our older photos may have age wear, coloring, creases, or other imperfections. Please see photos for detailed scans of both sides.
