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 whenever Spats' gangsters appear. In terms of cinematography and aesthetics, Billy Wilder chose to shoot the film in black and white as Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in full drag costume and make-up looked 'unacceptably grotesque' in early color tests. "Some Like It Hot" received widespread acclaim from critics, and is considered among the best films of all time. It received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Lemmon and Best Director and Best Screenplay for Wilder, the latter along with I.A.L. Diamond. It was voted as the top comedy film by the American Film Institute on their list