The Seven-Year Itch + Book Event

Dir. Billy Wilder. 1955, 105 mins. U.S. DCP. 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. 

Followed by a conversation with Melissa Stevens and Imogen Sara Smith.

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.