The Seven Year Itch

"It TICKLES and TANTALIZES! - The funniest comedy since laughter began!"

1955 1h 45m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🍅

84%

FRESH

⭐

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 1,023🍅84%Rotten Tomatoes★7IMDB · 45,417

ComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When his family goes away for summer vacation, a hitherto faithful publishing executive with an overactive imagination is tempted by an attractive new neighbor.

“It TICKLES and TANTALIZES! - The funniest comedy since laughter began!”

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Cast

Marilyn Monroe
The Girl
Tom Ewell
Richard Sherman
Evelyn Keyes
Helen Sherman
Sonny Tufts
Tom MacKenzie
Robert Strauss
M. Kruhulik
Oskar Homolka
Dr. Brubaker
Marguerite Chapman
Miss Morris
Victor Moore
Plumber

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Billy Wilder
Writers: Billy Wilder, George Axelrod
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

71 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Billy Wilder, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alfred Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hugh S. Fowler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell and Evelyn Keyes carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It TICKLES and TANTALIZES! - The funniest comedy since laughter began!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Billy Wilder directs. Milton Krasner behind the camera. Alfred Newman scores. Hugh S. Fowler cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 6.7× over at the box office.
371 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Billy Wilder, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alfred Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Hugh S. Fowler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell and Evelyn Keyes carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "It TICKLES and TANTALIZES! - The funniest comedy since laughter began!".
9IMDB entry: tt0048605 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Original score: Alfred Newman
Editing: Hugh S. Fowler
Costume design: Travilla
Makeup / hair: Helen Turpin
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,800,000
Box office: $12,000,000
Return: 667% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 45,417 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award2 wins & 3 nominations total

Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Billy Wilder

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Nutshell2019-08-03
★ 7/10
A funny film, though not Wilder's best, possibly due to the limits forced here by the censor board. Monroe is at her peak here, and Tom Ewell reprises his role well from the broadway stage.
CinemaSerf2024-01-17
★ 6/10
Tom Ewell is the happily married "Richard" whose family have gone away for a few weeks leaving him all alone with his manuscript and soft drinks that sound like gut-rot in a bottle! His wife "Helen" always calls him at 10pm so he must stay awake til then, and whilst waiting his vivid imagination often kicks in! That's only more concentrated when his new upstairs neighbour (Marilyn Monroe) calls in to say hello. He's smitten! She is the epitome of his desires and as their friendship blossoms, he finds his fantasies become racier and racier, more and more fanciful and all entirely unfulfilled! What now ensues might have worked better for me had Ewell been a bit better an actor, but he doesn't really deliver very well here and we wait way too long for Monroe to come and brighten things up. She has excellent timing, and looks every inch the apple of the eye as she innocently and charmingly drives poor old "Richard" to the brink! The comedy is decently written though resorts a little too much to slapstick for it's execution and I thought the joke became just a little bit laboured after an hour or so of slightly repetitive and contrived scenarios. Not one of Billy Wilder's better films, even if a passing subway train gives us some cinema history. A sort of parody of "Beauty and the Beast", perhaps, but all just a little too tame.