The Celluloid Pantry: Upper-Berth Manhattans and Some Like It Hot (1959)

2006_02_14 some like it hot1.jpg A little ingenuity will always make up for a lack of equipment.

In Some Like it Hot (1959), two down-on-their-luck musicians, Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) are on the lam, disguised as women after witnessing the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929 Chicago.

Packed into a train headed to Florida with the members of an all-girl band, whose Prohibition-era regulations forbid alcohol and men, Joe and Jerry have a tough time keeping their cover.

But things really heat up when band mate Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe) stops by to visit her new friend Daphne (Jerry) in her (his) upper-berth bed. Word soon gets out to the rest of the girls and an impromptu cocktail party breaks out: “I have whiskey…" "I have vermouth…." "Does anyone have any maraschino cherries?"

While Sugar chips ice, using a drumstick as an improvised pick and a cymbal as an makeshift tray, the rest of the girls mix up the vermouth and bourbon in a hot water bottle “shaker,” pouring the Manhattans into paper cups from the train’s dispenser.

Whether your home bar is first class or freight, the Manhattan is a classic cocktail that’s easy to shake up with a few simple ingredients.

May you always get the sweet end of the lollipop!

2006_02_14 some like it hot2.jpg Upper-Berth Manhattan Cocktail
(makes 1)

1-3/4 oz. rye or bourbon
2/3 oz. sweet vermouth
dash of bitters

Combine in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake, strain and pour into a glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

- Nora

Comments (5)

god i love me a manhattan
i even take the time to make them at home sometimes
my favorite though is a perfect manhattan, with both dry and sweet vermouth
its a tad girly, but oh man, its soo superduper GOOD!

posted by ann on 2006-02-14 11:09:23

I can say it over and over how much I love The Celluloid Pantry. I love this movie too. I should rent it for tonight.

posted by dani on 2006-02-14 14:13:29

i was at a restaurant last night with a full bar but they did not have bitters! what's the world coming to??

i agree, this is a fun series....

i'm holding my breath till the "Boys in the Band" entry with Connie Casserole.

posted by corey on 2006-02-14 15:23:45

Yes, long live the Selluloid Pantry, and may it stand as a bulwark against anything like what's happening to tobacco in movies ever happening to sweet, sweet booze.

posted by Bert on 2006-02-18 20:46:09

Er, I of course meant "Celluloid" - did I mention how sweet the booze was?

posted by Bert on 2006-02-18 20:47:09