#The seven year itch movie

Yet he continued to milk Marilyn’s exposure over and over again. He must also have known that none of the takes could ever be used in the final print because of the crowd noise. Wilder must have known that Joe was highly displeased, yet he kept on with it. In fact, it was more or less the final nail in the coffin of their nine-month marriage which ended during the shoot. And all this took place in front of Marilyn’s husband, baseball great Joe DiMaggio. He even had bleachers set up, according to Kobrin. The now famous subway scene, where MM stands over a grating enjoying the blast of cool air rising from beneath her, was played out for all it was worth in New York City in front of an estimated 5,000 onlookers who whistled and cheered Marilyn every time her skirt ended up around her head.Ģ0 th Century Fox’s East Coast Co-respondent Bill Kobrin was convinced that it was Wilder’s intention to shoot the scene over and over again as a rather lewd publicity stunt for the onlookers. And why? Because shifty little Billy Wilder deliberately promoted Marilyn as a sex object, to the point where his blatant disregard for her happiness and wellbeing cost the lady her marriage to DiMaggio.

#The seven year itch movie

This movie should have been consigned to the trash, yet it is still talked about today. All those young girls falling in love with an egotistical, vertically challenged loud-mouth, who only ever had one idea in his head over fifteen years – ‘Let’s put on a show!’Īnn Rutherford, Judy Garland & Lana Turnerīut back to The Seven Year Itch. Why? He was spud ugly, skinny, balding and sappy. Every picture that guy was in, he had all these gorgeous women madly in love with him – Cyd Charisse, Leslie Caron, Ginger Rogers, Vera-Ellen et al. Throughout The Seven Year Itch I kept asking myself – ‘Why would a goddess like Marilyn bother to even talk to this guy?’ Mind you, I had been asking that question for years about another so-called ‘leading man’. Another guy from the same era, Robert Morse, didn’t have it either, yet somebody kept tossing both of them into projects as the male lead! Unfortunately, the studio rejected the unknown Walter Matthau in favor of Ewell because the latter was known to Broadway audiences. I have seen Ewell in a few films and he just ain’t got it! Not that he is alone in that regard. Letterman has ever really had a good day, come to think of it. The script is dull beyond belief, and the leading man, Tom Ewell, is about as interesting and riveting as David Letterman on a bad day. With a lot of help from a director named Billy Wilder.įrankly, I found The Seven Year Itch to be a complete bore. It consists of two words – Marilyn Monroe. The Seven Year Itch attained a similar unwarranted status, although the reason for that status is far easier to explain. I have always thought it was an over-rated ‘nothing’ picture, inhabited by two ‘druggies’ and one non-actor, but for reasons known only to the critics and the publicity people in Hollywood it became an iconic chunk of celluloid. Suddenly and often inexplicably, they are lauded as masterpieces, works of art, living statements of the times. The Trans-Lux has since moved to 1221 Avenue of the Americas, but the subway grating can still be seen at the northwest corner of Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street.Some movies seem to take on a life of their own. The subway grating was outside the Trans-Lux Theater, where Ewell and Monroe had just watched The Creature From the Black Lagoon. The close-ups of her legs were re-shot in Hollywood. The next day, Monroe was sporting bruises and within a few days she and DiMaggio had split. The crowd roared as Monroe's skirt billowed up, and one of the most enduring Hollywood images was born. The studio made sure that the press knew exactly when and where the scene was to be shot, and that Marilyn would be wearing an outfit that would 'stop the traffic'.Īround 2,000 people turned up to witness the filming, including an enraged DiMaggio. The notorious subway grating scene was largely staged as a publicity stunt.

They were staying at Suites 11 in the St Regis-Sheraton Hotel, 2 55th Street at Fifth Avenue.

The Seven Year Itch filming location: the subway grating: Lexington Avenue, New YorkĪt the time of filming, in September 1954, Monroe's marriage to Joe DiMaggio was falling apart.