In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #22 Greatest Movie of All Time.
In 2008, a Californian man who found a little black dress in his closet was stunned when appraisers for U.S. TV series Antiques Roadshow determined it once belonged to Marilyn Monroe. The frock - which Monroe was sewn into for Some Like It Hot - was estimated to be worth $250,000
In Russia, the film is titled "Only Girls Are Allowed In Jazz"; thought by some to be a much more appropriate title.
In the French post-synchronized version of the film, the actors are dubbed by: Claire Guibert (Marilyn Monroe); Jean-Claude Michel (Tony Curtis); Michel Roux (Jack Lemmon); Jean Martinelli (George Raft), Fred Pasquali (Joe E. Brown), Danièle Roy (Joan Shawlee) and Raymonde Devarennes (Barbara Drew).
In the Italian post-synchronized version of the film, the actors are dubbed by: Rosetta Calavetta (Marilyn Monroe); Pino Locchi (Tony Curtis); Giuseppe Rinaldi (Jack Lemmon); Gualtiero De Angelis (George Raft); Giorgio Capecchi (Pat O'Brien); Carlo Romano (Joe E. Brown); Mario Pisu (Nehemiah Persoff); Lidia Simoneschi (Joan Shawlee); Manlio Busoni (Billy Gray); Cesare Polacco (George E. Stone); Bruno Persa (Dave Barry); Luigi Pavese (Mike Mazurki) and Massimo Turci (Edward G. Robinson Jr.).
In the opening scene when Joe and Jerry are playing at the "funeral", all of Gerald's "supposes" eventually become true: The Dodgers move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks get divorced.
One of the few American movies ever given a "Condemned" rating by the Roman Catholic Legion of Decency.
Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006.
Stories of the difficulty that cast and crew had with Marilyn Monroe during the making of this film have grown to almost mythical proportions. In the "farewell" telephone conversation between Monroe and Tony Curtis, her side-to-side eye movements clearly reveal that she was reading her lines directly from an off-screen blackboard. According to Curtis, Monroe was routinely 2 to 3 hours late to the set, and occasionally refused to leave her dressing room.
Supposedly when Orry-Kelly was measuring all three stars for dresses, he half-jokingly told Marilyn Monroe, "Tony Curtis has a nicer butt than you," at which point Monroe pulled open her blouse and said, "Yeah, but he doesn't have tits like these!"
The character of Spats Colombo is in several ways reminiscent to the notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone. Capone was responsible for the Saint Valentine's Day massacre in 1929, in which his rival gang members were gunned down in a nearly identical fashion as shown in the film. The massacre occurred in a Chicago warehouse on Clark Street, which is also mentioned in the film.
The film was adapted into a Broadway musical entitled "Sugar", which opened at the Majestic Theater on April 9, 1972 and ran for 505 performances.
The film's working title was "Not Tonight Josephine".
The last door Jerry and Joe open in the office building where they are looking for work says "Jules Stein, President" stenciled on the door. Jules Stein is a real person who founded the Music Corporation of America, also stenciled on the door. Billy Wilder played cards with Stein.
The movie's line "Well, nobody's perfect." was voted as the #48 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
The now-famous closing line, "Nobody's perfect," was actually never intended to make the final film. It was apparently to be replaced by the writers once they thought of something they liked better. Furthermore, both I.A.L. Diamond and Billy Wilder credit the other for the genesis of the line.
The railroad passenger car that was used in this movie (Clover Colony) is now at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee where it can be used in excursion/local service.
The resort scenes were filmed entirely at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, California. One reason why Billy Wilder chose this location was Marilyn Monroe's ongoing personal problems. He wanted a location where she could live on site and not have to be transported.
Upon its original release, Kansas banned the film from being shown in the state, explaining that cross-dressing was "too disturbing for Kansans".