In 1959 a major studio released a film without the mandatory censorship certificate, a move that should have barred it from every theater in America. Instead, Some Like It Hot grossed $25 million and broke the Hays Code. This episode unpacks the chaotic making of Billy Wilder's comedy: how he and I.A.L. Diamond adapted a 1935 French film they could not even find a print of, bought the rights to its 1951 German remake, and bolted on a gangster plot modeled on the real St. Valentine's Day Massacre to give the cross-dressing premise life-and-death stakes.

We cover the casting saga, from Frank Sinatra and Jerry Lewis to Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe's unprecedented deal for 10 percent of the gross over $4 million, the 47 takes of a three-word line, the beach scene she nailed in 20 minutes, and why the difficult-diva narrative dese ...