The Seven Year Itch Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: The Seven Year Itch
Year: 1955
Director: Billy Wilder
Country: US
Language: English

Compared to modern Cinema, The Seven Year Itch may come off as a naive and innocent romantic comedy complicit with society's moral standards. However, this feature actually tested the limits of censorship in a time where Hollywood was ruled by a rigid and moral code. Based on George Axelrod's 1952 play, this subject matter may have appeased Broadway, but it was under heavy scrutiny by Hollywood. Many scenes and lines of dialogue were ripped away from Billy Wilder, though despite this challenge he was able to get it completed. 

With his family away for their annual summer holiday, New Yorker Richard (Tom Ewell)  decides he has the opportunity to live a bachelor's life - to eat and drink what he wants and basically to enjoy life without wife and son. He does his best to remain faithful, but the beautiful blonde (Marilyn Monroe) upstairs is testing his limits.

While Monroe is perfect for her role as the bubbly temptress- and it's difficult to imagine any other actress in that role- one wonders if Billy Wilder was in his right mind when deciding to make a picture with her. Monroe's lifetime bouts of depression and mental illness took their toll during filming; often leading to as many as 40 takes to produce a satisfactory scene. Her marriage to Joe DiMaggio fell apart, and it's well documented that Wilder couldn't stand the actress. To quote him "Hollywood didn't kill Marilyn Monroe, it's the Marilyn Monroes that are killing Hollywood"

Tom Ewell plays his role as the "everyman" quite well, it's easy to sympathize with him. The film's themes of fidelity, freedom and guilt stem from this character. He's a man with an active imagination. In one daydream he tells his wife that all the women in the world want him and makes up fantastical stories about rejecting beautiful nurses and neighbors. On this basis, it's quite logical to assume that the Marilyn Monroe character is not real, but rather part of his fantasy. What American man in the 50's wouldn't fantasize about having an affair Monroe? In my opinion, the film as fantasy is much funnier than a straightforward comedy.

In conclusion, though The Seven Year Itch is a bit dated and basically a G-rated version of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, the film's themes are universal and will remain incredibly relevant into the future. It's a fun picture that is very well made and will have you guessing to the very end. I think the rigid censorship of the 50's hurt the picture, as it needed to be a bit darker and more sexual at times. Infidelity is not a light subject and seeing as how Wilder can make incredibly dark films even out of comedies I wouldn't put blame on the Director. 3.5/5