Some like the fanfares d'amour hot.

Rating: 10/10 (21 August 2003)

In the thirties ,Billy Wilder used to work in France ,where he made his first film "mauvaise graine",with Danielle Darrieux in 1934.The following year ,Richard Pottier made his "fanfare d'amour".So Wilder probably heard about it.
Here's a short summary of "fanfare d'amour": Two comedians in dire straits,Jean and Pierre are chasing after any sort of work.This year,female combos are trendy.So they dress up as women and become part of "Dutch tulips" and all-women orchestra.Everybody take the night train .Jean and Pierre fall in love with Gaby and become rivals.But the girl has met Jean (in a man's clothes!) and she's crazy about him.Besides the theater director (a man!) falls also in love with Jean whom he mistakes for a woman!
There's no coincidence;there are too many similarities between the 1935 "fanfare d'amour" and 1959 "some like it hot" .The former is impossible to see even in France where the telly never broadcasts it.
Anyway,Wilder wins hands down:Richard Pottier was a moderately talented director,the American director a genius.Almost fifty years later,"some like it hot" remains my all-time favorite comedy.And as this not avowed remake does not need a third one,because I could hardly imagine someone doing a better work than Wilder.Nobody's perfect ,but at his best he was.
NB:actually,Wilder's inspiration was the German remake.