Leading Ladies

Billy Wilder's timeless screwball comedy 'Some Like It Hot' needs no introduction - with it's non-stop action, smutty one-liners, sexual innuendo and skilful blend of high and low comedy, it is widely regarded as one of the most hilarious movies ever made. On the run from Chicago mobsters, musicians Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon disguise themselves as women to join an all-female jazz band bound for Florida. Curtis double masquerades as an impotent millionaire to win the irresistible Marilyn Monroe, who steals the show as singer Sugar Kane, while Lemmon is pursued by a real millionaire. Daring at the time for its themes of cross-dressing, gender identity and homosexuality, the film was released without approval from the Motion Picture Production Code, yet was an overwhelming success and went on to receive six Oscar nominations.

Designed by prolific design partnership So-Ky (László Sós and Éva Kemény), this rare poster for the first Hungarian release focuses on a curvaceous Marilyn and her cross-dressing suitor. As American publicity materials were banned during the Soviet era in the Communist Bloc, the state-commissioned artists were able to operate with creative freedom from the demands of the big Hollywood studios, allowing a greater focus on the graphic and artistic elements of the design. A playful paper-cut aesthetic, with bright colours and bold typography, typified the modern graphic style of the Budapest based design duo, best known for their socialist propaganda posters. Printed in Hungary by Bors Ferenc, Budapest.

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