Blaming Billy Wilder

On 5 November 1954, Billy Wilder concluded filming of The Seven Year Itch. Production had taken two weeks longer than originally scheduled, which was in large part due to leading lady Marilyn Monroe. Not only was Marilyn always late on the set but she also needed numerous takes to get a scene right (Wilder once said that directing Marilyn was like pulling teeth). Because of the delay, production costs exceeded the original budget and amounted to a total of $1.8 million. 

A week after filming had ended, Darryl F. Zanuck, head of production at Twentieth Century-Fox, wrote a confidential letter to Charles Feldman, co-executive producer of The Seven Year Itch. The two men had been having issues on the film before, and this letter shows how Zanuck disagreed with Feldman about whom to blame for the delay (in his opinion it was Wilder's fault, not Marilyn's). Incidentally, Zanuck couldn't have known then that The Seven Year Itch would be one of Twentieth Century-Fox's biggest successes of 1955, eventually earning the studio millions of dollars. 

Marilyn Monroe dancing with Charles Feldman 

Left: Darryl Zanuck. Right: Marilyn and Billy Wilder on the set of "The Seven Year Itch"; Wilder would have even more problems with Marilyn four years later during the shooting of "Some Like it Hot" (read more here and here). 

Image courtesy of profiles in history

Transcript:

November 12, 1954

Confidential

Dear Charlie: 

I do not want to bring up an argument again as there is no use crying over spilled milk. For your own information, SEVEN YEAR ITCH was scheduled for 35 days but it took 48 days to make it.

This is only 9 days less than it took us to photograph THE ROBE. I know you will say that we did not have Marilyn Monroe in THE ROBE.

Let me combat this argument by telling you that we made HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE in 34 days and this was at a time that we were experimenting with CinemaScope and the cast included Monroe.

These are accurate figures and I am only reciting them to you for the purpose of trying to set you straight. Wilder did a sensational job from the standpoint of quality. He certainly did not do a sensational job from the standpoint of shooting time and schedule.

Regards,

Darryl (signed)

Mr. Charles Feldman

9441 Wilshire Blvd.

Beverly Hills, Calif.

Billy Wilder and The Legion of Decency

During Hollywood's Golden Age, moviemaking and censorship went hand in hand. The notorious Production Code, also known as the Hays Code, dictated what was and wasn't allowed in movies between 1930 and 1968. There was, however, another kind of censorship filmmakers had to deal with. I must admit that I had never heard of the National Legion of Decency before, but this organisation (founded by Roman Catholic bishops in 1933) was, like the Production Code, committed to keeping objectionable content out of films. Feeling that the secular Production Code was not severe enough, the Legion introduced a rating system feared by filmmakers. The following ratings were issued: A for movies that were "morally unobjectionable", B for movies "morally objectionable in part", and C for movies "condemned by the Legion". Until the 1960s, the Legion was very influential with moviegoers, and filmmakers wanted to avoid a C-rating at all costs. So, in order to keep the Legion happy, many filmmakers gave in to its demands by making alterations to their films.

Director Billy Wilder and his star Marilyn Monroe on the set of "The Seven Year Itch" (1955)

Billy Wilder's "The Seven Year Itch" premiered on 3 June 1955 in New York. After the premiere, the Legion of Decency threatened to give the film a C-rating unless certain scenes were cut. (Prior to the film's release, the PCA had already forced Wilder to make drastic changes.) On 8 June 1955, Wilder sent the following telegram to William Gehring of the Legion of Decency, asking Gehring to convince Father Little (the Legion's director) to reconsider his 'request' since additional changes would only ruin the movie.

Via: divine marilyn

Transcript:

6-8-55

COPY
WILLIAM GEHRING
ETC.

DEAR MR. GEHRING:

UNDERSTAND YOU ARE TO SEE FATHER LITTLE REGARDING OUR SEVEN YEAR ITCH PICTURE stop I WOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL IF YOU WOULD POINT OUT THAT IN MY TWENTY YEARS OF MOVIE MAKING I HAVE NEVER YET RUN INTO TROUBLE WITH LEGION OF DECENCY stop I DO NOT HAVE THE REPUTATION OF HAVING EVER BEEN CONNECTED WITH PICTURES OF LASCIVIOUS CHARACTER stop

IN BRINGING SEVEN YEAR ITCH TO THE SCREEN I HAVE TRIED MOST CAREFULLY TO ELIMINATE CENSORABLE MATERIAL stop I HAVE CHANGED THE ENTIRE SECOND HALF OF THE PLAY BY ELIMINATING THE AFFAIR BETWEEN THE MARRIED MAN AND THE GIRL UPSTAIRS stop I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY DEMONSTRATED THE SERIOUSNESS OF MARRIAGE AND THE BASIC DECENCY OF THE HUSBAND stop

OBVIOUSLY, THE PICTURE DEALS HUMOROUSLY WITH A MAN'S TEMPTATIONS BUT THEY ARE VERY HUMAN AND UTTERLY HARMLESS. stop

WE HAVE READ THOUSANDS OF PREVIEW CARDS. WE HAVE LISTENED TO THOUSANDS OF COMMENTS. WE HAVE READ ALL THE REVIEWS WHICH HAVE COME OUT SO FAR, AND NO WHERE WAS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO A SINGLE SCENE OR LINE IN THE PICTURE. stop

IN LIGHT OF THIS I WILL MOST SINCERELY URGE FATHER LITTLE TO RESCIND HIS REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL CHANGES stop AS ONE REVIEWER PUT IT QUOTE THE PLAY HAS BEEN LAUNDERED SNOW WHITE UNQUOTE. AM AFRAID THAT ADDITIONAL BLEACHING WILL MAKE THE PICTURE DISINTEGRATE INTO AN INCOMPREHENSIBLE NOTHING.

SINCERE THANKS.
BILLY WILDER


Well, Wilder's telegram didn't have the desired effect. Father Little refused to yield, and the scenes he had protested against were still cut from the movie. On 30 June 1955, the Legion of Decency gave the film (no longer considered condemned) the less stringent B-rating. Wilder did have to compromise to avoid the Legion's scorn, but as a result "The Seven Year Itch" became one of the highest grossing films for Twentieth Century Fox that year.

Billy Wilder directing the film's most famous scene with Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell. One of the original shots was disallowed by the PCA and had to be eliminated. And the Legion of Decency protested against a line from Marilyn in this scene (where she uses the words "those hot pants"), after which the line was cut from the scene.