FAQ

Happily married for seven years, 38-year-old professional book reader Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell) sends wife Helen (Evelyn Keyes) and son Ricky (Tom Nolan) to Maine for the dog days of summer. Resolved not to take up smoking, drinking, and carousing like all those other New York summertime "bachelors", Richard's good intentions fly out the window when he meets his gorgeous and sexy neighbor (Marilyn Monroe).

No. The Seven Year Itch is based on a 1952 three-act play of the same name by American playwright George Axelrod who, together with Austrian-born director Billy Wilder, wrote the screenplay for the movie.

"Seven year itch" is a psychological term suggesting that happiness declines around the seventh year of marriage. It appears that Axelrod coined the phrase for his stage play, as word and phrase hunters haven't been able to turn up any earlier use of the words in a sexual context. Axelrod's psychoanalyst, Edmund Bergler, the basis for the Ludwig Brubaker character, published a book in 1954 called The Revolt of the Middle-Aged Man, that dealt with the issues in The Seven Year Itch. The play, however, premiered in 1952, so it's obvious that it wasn't inspired by the book. However, it's possible that these issues were introduced during the course of Axelrod's analysis.

It's a scene in which Monroe stands on a subway grate as her white dress is blown upward by a passing train. The scene occurs after Richard and the girl (Monroe is credited only as 'The Girl' in this movie) leave the movie theater after seeing L'étrange créature du lac Noir (1954). The "iconic" image refers to the full-body still image taken during filming - no such shot actually appears in the movie. While it is happening on screen, the camera only pans to her uncovered legs.

After imagining Helen shooting him after getting word, probably from the plumber, who is actually a private investigator in disguise, that Richard had a gorgeous blonde spend the night in their bed, Richard realizes that Helen loves and trusts him. And when Tom McKenzie (Sonny Tufts), wearing a striped vest no less, drops by to pick up Rickie's paddle, Richard realizes that he loves Helen, too, and that he, not McKenzie, will take Rickie's paddle to him. In a pique, Richard punches Tom, knocking him out. Suddenly, the janitor (Robert Strauss) walks in, wondering if it's a good time to pick up the rugs. Instead, Richard gets him to pick up the unconscious McKenzie and haul him out of the apartment. Realizing that there is still time to make the 8:47 train to Maine, Richard grabs his coat, hat, and Rickie's paddle and tells the girl that she can stay in his air-conditioned apartment while he's gone. She kisses Richard but won't let him wipe off her lipstick, telling him that, if his wife thinks it's cranberry sauce, he should tell her that she's got cherry pits in her head. With that, Richard runs out of the apartment. In the final scene, the girl tosses him his shoes through the window and waves goodbye as he scurries up the street.