![]() ![]() In his rumpled gray suit, with tie askew, he embarks on a series of monologues where his better nature competes with his carnal desires. Ewell gives a stellar performance, the best in his forty-five year acting career. Nothing actually happens, but the promise persists. However his best intentions are frustrated by the presence of The Girl (Marilyn Monroe), who has moved into the apartment above him. The story is a simple one: left on his own during a hot New York summer, Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell) tries his best to avoid the temptations of drink, tobacco and an extra-marital affair. Title (Brazil): "O Pecado Mora ao Lado" ("The Sin Lives on the Next Door")Įven after sixty years, THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH retains its freshness and bounce - a delightful testament both to the script (by Billy Wilder and playwright George Axelrod) and the quality of the performances. The restored DVD is fantastic and this is the most sexually suggested role of Marilyn Monroe to date. One dialog that I particularly like is when Sherman and the blonde leave the movie theater and she says that the creature needed to be loved, in an analogy between Sherman and the creature of the black lagoon. This external scene also provoked the end of the marriage of Marilyn with Joe Dimaggio, who felt humiliated with the manifestation of the public. ![]() The most famous scene of Marilyn Monroe, with her dress being lifted by the air of the subway, was first an exterior scene, but later Billy Wilder needed to shot again in the set because the noise and whistles of the viewers spoiled the original footage. His first choice was Walter Matthaus, but Fox direction did not want to take the risk of an unknown lead actor, therefore they selected Tom Ewell. Marilyn Monroe was selected to the cast, but Billy Wilder wanted a plain, average and non-handsome actor for the role of Sherman. However, to make the movie was a challenge for this great director, since many scenes and lines were ripped away by the censorship and by the National Legion of Decency, mutilating the plot. Billy Wilder was fascinated by this story and purchased the rights of George Axelrod. There was a Production Code in Hollywood that stated that adultery should not be the subject of comedy or laughs, and this story violated the Code. The screenplays and movies were submitted to the scrutiny of the powerful Hayes office, the censorship of Hollywood. Unfortunately in the 50's, the American cinema did not have the same artistic freedom as theater. The story is based on a George Axelrod popular 1952 Broadway play about a man that has an affair with his upstairs neighbor. "The Seven Year Itch" is a naive and innocent romantic comedy in accordance with the contemporary moral standards, but actually this feature tested the limits of censorship in a time when Hollywood was ruled by a rigid moral code. Along the days, he spends some time with the girl and feels tempted by her, but later he misses his family and travels to meet them. When a beautiful and sexy blonde lodges the upstairs apartment of his small building, Sherman first opens the front door for her and then he invites her to have a drink with him after the fall of her tomato vase on his chair on the backyard. The faithful Sherman has a routine life with his family and dreams on being successful with women. Sherman is the key man of a publishing firm, Brady & Company, which publishes cheap pocket books. In summertime in Manhattan, the plain and average Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell) sends his wife and son for vacation in the country.
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