The film was adapted by Billy Wilder and screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond from a story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan. Because Logan had already made a German film version of the story (Fanfaren der Liebe), some scholars consider Some Like It Hot to be a remake.

When the film was released in 1959, it received a "C" or "Condemned" rating from the Catholic Legion of Decency. Despite the controversy over its content, the film went on to win the Golden Globe for "Best Comedy" and an Academy Award for costume design.

In 1972, the film was adapted into a Broadway stage musical entitled Sugar, and in 1999, it was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress' National Film Registry.

1. The film was originally slated to be shot in color, but screen tests revealed the make-up Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon were required to wear while in drag let off a "green tint." They were more convincing as women in black and white.
2. Marilyn Monroe was notoriously difficult on the set, taking as many as 47 takes to get the line "It's me, Sugar" correct.
3. The resort scenes were filmed on location at San Diego's Hotel Del Coronado.

• "I'm Through With Love"
• "I Wanna Be Loved By You"
• "Some Like It Hot"
• "Runnin' Wild"
• "Down Among the Sheltering Palms"
• "Sugar Blues"
• "By the Beautiful Sea"
• "Sweet Georgia Brown"
• "La Cumparsita"