You may not know much about the German film Fanfaren der Liebe (Fanfares of Love, 1952), but know this: it provided the inspiration for Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot. And it can’t compete with the wonderful Wilder’s wild reimagining, as his power-packed cast, featuring the late Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon — musicians who turn to drag to escape the Mob — along with Marilyn Monroe, lit up the screen. And while Monroe seemed to have a touch of the Lohans about her (“very tough to work with,” Wilder would later tell Cameron Crowe), the film remains one of the greatest comedies ever made. “Nobody’s perfect,” is, of course, what the famous last line tells us. Perhaps so. But Some Like It Hot comes pretty close.
Top 10 Hollywood Remakes
Many Americans can't be bothered to watch foreign films. The subtitles, you know. Luckily, Hollywood is always ready to jump in with an unnecessary remake. TIME picks the best of the bunch.
Some Like It Hot (1959) / Fanfaren der Liebe (1952)
Full List
Top 10 Hollywood Remakes
- Let Me In (2010) / Let The Right One In (2008)
- Some Like It Hot (1959) / Fanfaren der Liebe (1952)
- 12 Monkeys (1996) / La Jetée (1962)
- The Magnificent Seven (1960) / The Seven Samurai (1954)
- Scent of a Woman (1992) / Profumo di Donna (1974)
- Solaris (2002) / Solyaris (1972)
- The Departed (2006) / Infernal Affairs (2002)
- A Fistful of Dollars (1964) / Yojimbo (1961)
- The Birdcage (1996) / La Cage aux Folles (1978)
- Funny Games (2007) / Funny Games (1997)