THE SEVEN-YEAR ITCH + BOOK EVENT
Directed by Billy Wilder
. With Marilyn Monroe, Tom Ewell, Evelyn Keyes, Oscar Homolka, Sonny Tufts. Envelope-pusher Billy Wilder turned a potential hot-button comedy about possible adultery (a Production Code no-no) into an enormous box-office success and gave Marilyn Monroe one of her most lasting, beloved roles. Adapted from George Axelrod’s play, the film follows nebbishy Tom Ewell as a husband alone for a hot summer weekend in NYC while his wife and child vacation in Maine, and finds himself, uh, distracted by his new, blonde bombshell upstairs neighbor. With its ultimate married-guy fantasy dilemma, The Seven-Year Itch remains one of Wilder’s most delightful comic confections, and Monroe brings her customary combination of sexiness, warmth, and vulnerability. Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Melissa Stevens is the granddaughter of internationally renowned photographer and filmmaker Sam Shaw. For nearly twenty years she has been the Director of Shaw Family Archives, a family-owned company that preserves and promotes Sam Shaw’s artistic legacy through events, exhibitions, books, licensing projects and other collaborations. Before managing Sam Shaw’s photography and film collection, Melissa worked in the movie and television industry on productions such as Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic and HBO’s Rome and The Sopranos. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and lives in Brooklyn. Imogen Sara Smith is a freelance film critic and historian based in New York City. She is the author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City and Buster Keaton: The Persistence of Comedy. Her work has appeared in Sight & Sound, Film Comment, Reverse Shot, the Criterion Collection, and many other venues. She has taught film history and criticism at NYU, the School of Visual Arts, and Maine Media Workshops.