Fashion Movie: The Seven Year Itch (1955)
I bring up this movie, because it occurred to me, that some folks may not know what one of the MOST iconic film images of the 20th Century actually came from. I’m talking about the famous Marilyn dress. You know the one…Yep, it’s in this movie. Interestingly, the full image is not even seen in the move film; the shot used is only of her legs. The image of her in full was only used in promotions. The dress was designed by Hollywood designer William Travilla. There is a bit of folklore that Travilla actually bought it off the rack, but he denied that.
You can buy a sewing pattern like this dress here:
The premise of the film is that every summer, the working men of Manhattan send their wives and children off to the country, as the city is far too hot to spend the summer. The men are then left alone, and it is implied that they engage in some skirt chasing. Marilyn’s character (known simply in the credits as “The Girl”) manages to get into some sticky situations with Tom Ewell’s character, as she sublets the apartment above his, as he discovers on the day he sends his family off on their summer vacation.
In this particular scene, Marilyn and Tom Ewell are walking home from the movies (where they saw the Creature from the Black Lagoon), when they pass a subway grating. Marilyn steps on top of the grating to catch the breeze from the passing subway and cinema history is captured.
During filming, Marilyn’s husband at the time, Joe DiMaggio was present, and well, didn’t love this whole thing. He also wasn’t too keen on the image being used in the marketing of the film. Of course, this is all very tame by today’s standards. But this did mark the end of their marriage.
This film also contains one of my most favorite lines from a movie: when Tom Ewell’s secretary asks him if he would like her to send down for some breakfast, he says: “Miss Morris, I'm perfectly capable of fixing my own breakfast. As a matter of fact, I had a peanut butter sandwich and two whiskey sours.” HA!
