The Seven Year Itch (1955)
(Billy Wilder, US 1955, 105 min., 35mm)
Though it will always be remembered primarily for the famous shot of Marilyn Monroe’s billowing skirt, this story of a man (Tom Ewell) driven to the furthest limits of resistance by
Monroe’s seductive sexpot, is also among director Billy Wilder’s most provocative comedies. Richard Sherman (Ewell) sends his family away to Maine for their summer vacation while he stays in the city to work and to live life on his own terms, mostly eating and drinking what and when he wants. When he meets the beautiful woman subletting the apartment upstairs (Monroe, billed only as “The Girl”), his imagination starts to run away from him. Wilder convinces the audience that CinemaScope was made for more than just musicals and adventures.