The Seven Year Itch – The Neighbors Blogathon

I’ll be real. This has never been my favorite Marilyn Monroe movie, but I thought I would give it a second watch for The Neighbors Blogathon and see how I felt about it the second time around. I’m still a bit conflicted about the premise itself, but there are definitely some great things in it. Marilyn is gorgeous as always, but the premise doesn’t age well and the iconic subway scene honestly leaves something to be desired. There are pieces that are funny, mostly due to Monroe’s acting, and the movie does end on an upswing.

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The heat in New York is enough to drive away the wives and the children, leaving the men to fend for themselves over the summer while they stay close to the city for work. Many seem to use it as a way to condone cheating while their wives are away. Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell) is determined to be good and do everything his wife said before leaving, including not smoking or drinking because of doctor’s orders. Although only in his late 30s, apparently this is ancient and warrants extra precautions. Being in my late 30s, I kind of get it, but it almost sounds like he should be 10 years older (which the actor is, so maybe it makes sense there).

So anyway, Richard is determined to avoid temptation in more ways than one, but unfortunately, his neighbors upstairs leased out their apartment to a beautiful woman, which tests Richard’s resolve.

Given that it’s Marilyn, I get it, but it still is a bit icky how he tries to justify and go after her anyway. To make matters more complicated, she doesn’t have air conditioning, so what’s a poor girl to do except go mack on the neighbor to use his? While her demeanor is mostly innocent, his is not. He excuses his pursuit of her in his own mind and thinks it’s okay to do (this is the ick that I have a hard time getting over really).

They spend some time together and after his attempt to kiss her at his apartment goes awry, he takes her to a movie and on the walk back, uses his knowledge of her career, which she shared with him, to trick her into kissing him. The kisses come pretty easily after that.

The most sketch thing is the sleepover, where she sleeps in his bed (while he’s on the couch) and then uses his shower. The implications are there and if this had been made in another time, they probably would have slept together, which makes the premise hard to take. I get that he has an overactive imagination about things and that it was a different time, but cheating, especially how he goes about it and takes advantage of her, leaves a bad taste in my mouth, probably not unlike the toothpaste she pushes on TV.

In the end, nothing super bad happens (although all the kisses are suspect), and he decides to go to his family. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to applaud his decision to not keep messing around with “The Girl” (she doesn’t even have a name), but the ending scene is only really made palpable by the fact that he forgot his shoes and she throws them at him from the window. That’s pretty funny.

The Players

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn is by far the best and highest redeeming thing about this movie. She’s gorgeous and very good at what she does. Plus, when she’s talking or interacting with Tom, he can’t talk to himself (which he does a lot).

Even though she doesn’t mind kissing a married man, her intentions are innocent… the poor thing is just overheated and wants to get in on his air conditioning. She also seems to like him, so spending time with him isn’t terrible. Marilyn’s comedy here is fun to watch from almost dropping a tomato plant on him while naked to the overacting on purpose during Richard’s piano fantasy.

I also adore this dress. Let’s talk about this for a moment. Not only is it in the famous subway grate dress, it became the one that means Marilyn. This dress is closely tied to her, which I find interesting, given this is not her best movie (I would rank Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, and Some Like it Hot much higher). This pose is way sexier and more interesting than the grate scene in my opinion.

Tom Ewell

If there’s one thing that can be said about this character, it is his vivid imagination. He has a tendency to dive into fantasy and talk to himself a lot. The unique style for telling the story is interesting because it’s like he’s the narrator.

I think the problem is that he is off-putting, especially in the scene where he’s imagining his wife on the porch. The whole attitude of how he can have any girl he wants is abrasive. It’s over-the-top, and it doesn’t work for me. I know it’s supposed to be funny and he’s supposed to be funny, but he’s just not in that scene.

He’s a bit of a creeper too since he tries to kiss The Girl while her eyes are closed… and then tries again and she says no and they fall over. At that point his conscience hits him again and he has to insist SHE leave when she should be the one storming out.

His mania about getting caught is mildly amusing though… especially the bit about his wife coming to shoot him.

Evelyn Keyes

Evelyn doesn’t have a ton of screen time, but I love her in this scene. Richard is hallucinating and telling his wife Helen, who isn’t there, about all the times he could have cheated on her, which is gross, but her comebacks are great. She is the only thing that makes this palpable by being like, no, you couldn’t, and laughing at him.

Background Trivia

THAT scene

The iconic subway grate scene is anticlimactic, but I do wonder if the original footage was more scandalous like the promotional pictures. Given Joe DiMaggio’s extreme reaction, there must have been more to it than below.

That’s as high as her dress gets in the shot, so it isn’t really that much of a shock after seeing other pictures from this film, such as this print, or this one.

Really though.. this scene that makes her look naked seems a bit more risque.

Marilyn’s Troubles

During this film, Marilyn had a hard time. She needed many takes to get scenes right, she was depressed, often late, and she was super paranoid about losing her looks. This is pretty heartbreaking to think about since she never got the chance to grow old.

Joe hadn’t been on the set that day..

This film and specifically the scene with the subway grate led to the demise of the marriage of Marilyn and Joe. Originally, the director Billy Wilder decided to turn the shoot into a media circus and even set up bleachers. About 5,000 people watched, catcalled, and cheered Marilyn as they filmed the scene and she kept missing her lines, both things making the original footage unusable.

Joe was upset about the entire thing and their relationship never recovered. Reportedly, he went on to cause bruises on her that needed coverup after their “domestic fight.” She filed for divorce three weeks later.

They probably would have ended regardless of him being on the set. If he was that prone to violence and jealousy, it would have happened anyway.

Since the noise compromised the scene, they then had to recreate it and it still took Marilyn 40 takes to get it right.

Someone else had played Richard…

So, I’m not sure if it’s fully the character that rubs me the wrong way (though it’s a big piece of it), but I do wonder if there had been someone more charming in the role, if I wouldn’t have disliked him as much.

Say… Jack Lemmon or Dean Martin. If it had been someone with more charisma, would I have found the whole thing less creepy? Maybe. If it had been someone who was more expressive, handsome (sorry..not sorry), or likable, it could have swayed me. It could just be Tom’s style of playing this character that didn’t hit right for me too.

The original choice was Walter Matthau, but 20th Century Fox wouldn’t take a chance because he was a newcomer at the time. Because of this, they went with Tom, who originated the role on Broadway.

James Stewart had played Richard..

He was also a choice. I adore Stewart and he would definitely made for a more likable character. I do wonder though if he could pull it off. He was so devoted to his own marriage that seeing him in this kind of role may have been odd.

William Holden had played Richard..

Holden was also considered. I think he may have been great in this. He’s likable and has a pleasant stage presence in a film. He does comedy very well, so I think this would have been a great choice.

Wilder had been able to do it now he wanted…

Wilder said later that the story was lacking, calling it a “nothing movie.” Because of censorship, he couldn’t tell the story with them actually having an affair. He didn’t think it really works without that piece.

There’s one thing for sure… it wouldn’t have gone over well with audiences at the time. If they’d slept together and then he ran back to his family at the end, it would have been with that worst offense to his wife. Would he have just lied to her? Would he come clean? That ending feels way worse than what they did.

How do you feel about this film? Are you conflicted like me?

If you like alternative history or biographical/historical fiction, I write that as well under the pen name Dottie Fray.

If you choose to buy this film, I may earn a commission as an Amazon affiliate. Grab it here on Bluray, DVD or streaming.

This article was originally posted for The Neighbors Blogathon, check out all the entries!