Some Like It Hot success of "Some Like It Hot" is considered one of the final nails in the coffin for the Hays Code. It is February 1929 in the city of Chicago, during the era of Prohibition. Joe (Tony Curtis) is a jazz saxophone player, and an irresponsible gambler and ladies' man; his sensible friend Jerry (Jack Lemmon) is a jazz double bass player. They work in a speakeasy (disguised as a funeral home) owned by gangster "Spats" Colombo (George Raft). Tipped off by informant "Toothpick" Charlie (George E. Stone), the police raid the joint. Joe and Jerry flee—only to accidentally witness Spats
Some Like It Hot inspired by the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. Despite Monroe's contract requiring the film to be in color, she agreed to it being filmed in black and white after seeing that Curtis and Lemmon's makeup gave them a "ghoulish" appearance on color film. "Some Like It Hot" opened to largely positive reviews and is today considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. It was voted as the top comedy film by the American Film Institute on their list on AFI's "100 Years... 100 Laughs" poll in 2000. In 2017, the film was voted the best comedy of