Dying
for
Good
Dialogue



 In
an
interview
with
Billy
Wilder
and
his
right‐hand‐man,
writer
I.A.L.
Diamond,
 Wilder
remarked
to
the
American
Film
Institute:
“I'm
asked
all
the
time:
When
there
 are
two
names
or
three
names
on
a
screenplay,
does
one
write
one
scene
and
the
 other
another
scene,
and
then
do
you
meet
every
Tuesday
and
compare?
Or
does
 one
write
the
action
and
the
other
write
the
dialogue?
I'm
already
very
gratified
if
 anybody
asks
that
question,
because
most
people
think
the
actors
make
up
the
 words.
But
in
our
case
it’s
very
prosaic;
it
sounds
very
dull.”
My
initial
reaction
after
 reading
this
was…
HARDLY!
If
Wilder’s
writing
is
prosaic
and
dull,
I
imagine
mine
is
 about
as
exciting
to
read
as
a
coupon
for
Metamucil.
Nevertheless,
it
is
probably
this
 sort
of
humility
that
only
highlights
even
more
Wilder
and
Diamond’s
witty
and
 clever
syntax.
If
you
have
ever
seen
a
film
written
by
the
dynamic
duo,
you
can
 recognize
without
difficulty
the
brilliantly
constructed
conversations
between
 characters,
as
well
as
undertones
of
sarcasm,
irony,
and
innuendo.
Together,
these
 elements
create
one
entertaining
comedy,
genuinely
funny
and
uniquely
smart.
Case
 in
point:
Some
Like
It
Hot.


 
 
 We
can
all
remember
the
famous
quotes
from
a
movie
like
Some
Like
It
Hot.
Osgood
 Fielding’s
quip
“Nobody's
perfect!”
wraps
up
a
wholly
goofy
film,
and
serves
as
a
 relevant
(in
terms
of
the
humorous
tone
of
the
rest
of
the
movie)
yet
unexpected
 aspect
of
closure.
But
outside
of
such
famous
quotes
lies
the
body
of
the
dialogue
 and
the
subtext
that
subconsciously
permeates
our
minds
and
causes
us
to
remain
 transfixed
in
the
story.
The
conversation
is
normal
enough
that
we
believe
it
and
see
 it
as
realistic,
but
clever
enough
that
we
are
hooked
in
and
engaged
in
a
steady
 stream
of
laughter.
What
we
learn
from
films
like
this
is
that
screenplay
dialogue
 should
have
verisimilitude,
but
it
should
also
stand
out
enough
to
get
noticed
and
 please
or
interest
an
audience.
For
example,
here
are
several
lines
of
dialogue
 between
Tony
Curtis
(Joe)
and
Jack
Lemmon
(Jerry):

 
 Jerry
 Bye
Sugar!








 
 
 
 (To
Joe)
 
 We’ve
been
playing
with
the
wrong

 
 
 
 






bands.
 
 Joe
 Down,
Daphne!












 
 
 
 Jerry
 How
about
the
shape
of
that
liquor

 
 
 
 






cabinet?
 
 
 Joe
spins
him
around,
and
unbuttoning
the
back
of
his
dress,
starts
to
fix
the

 
 slipped
brassiere.

 





2





















 









 
 



 
 



 
 


Joe
 Forget
it.
One
false
move
and
they’ll

 
toss
us
off
the
train
‐
‐
there’ll
be
the

 



police,
and
the
papers,
and
the
mob
in

 





Chicago.
 
 Jerry
 
 










(not
listening)
 





Boy,
would
I
like
to
borrow
a
cup
of
that

 




Sugar.
 Joe
 







(whirling
him
around,

 







grabbing
the
front
of

 
 










his
dress)
 





Look
‐
‐
no
butter,
no
pastry,
and
no

 





Sugar!
 
 Jerry
 


(looking
down
at
his

 


chest,
pathetically)
 





You
tore
it
again!



 
 

 
 Not
only
is
this
interaction
hilarious
–
due
to
Jerry’s
chest
issues
and
obliviousness
–
 but
it
also
believeable.
We
believe
that
what
Joe
says
is
true.
Blown
cover
for
them
is
 potentially
a
death
sentence.
In
this
way,
Wilder
and
Diamond
created
a
 conversation
that
serves
a
purpose
(we
realize
the
magnitude
of
the
situation)
but
 approaches
this
purpose
in
a
lighthearted
way.
We
get
the
point,
but
we
are
focused
 on
Jerry’s
intoxication
with
Sugar.

 
 Screenplay
dialgoue
should
not
only
be
entertaining
and
believable,
but
it
should
 also
help
establish
the
characters.
Good
characters
are
manifested
out
of
good
 dialogue
and
subtext.
Think
of
some
of
your
favorite
movie
characters
of
all
time.
 Perhaps
you
named
Vito
Corleone,
Holly
Golightly,
or
Indiana
Jones.
Accordingly,
 you
will
undoubtedly
be
able
to
ramble
off
some
of
your
favorite
lines
from
these
(or
 other
favorite)
characters.
“I’m
gonna
make
him
an
offer
he
can’t
refuse,”
or
“The
 mean
reds
are
horrible.
Suddenly
you're
afraid
and
you
don't
know
what
you're
 afraid
of,”
and
“Snakes.
Why
did
it
have
to
be
snakes?”
In
Some
Like
It
Hot,
we
get
to
 know
some
of
the
most
memorable
characters
ever,
Joe
and
Jerry/Josephine
and
 Daphne
through
their
interactions
and
dialogue.
See
how
their
respective
characters
 are
established
through
the
following:
 
 Jerry
 
 You
going
to
call
the
police?
 
 Joe






 









 
 
 



 


3
 



The
police?
We’d
never
live
to
testify.
 
 
 






Not
against
Spats
Columbo.

 (into
phone)
 
 
 






Wabash
1098.
 
 Jerry
 

We
got
to
get
out
of
town.
Maybe
we

 
 
 






ought
to
grow
beards.
 
 Joe
 
We
are
going
out
of
town.
But
we’re

 
 
 






going
to
shave.
 
 Jerry
 



Shave?
At
a
time
like
this?
Those
guys

 
 
 






got
machine
guns
–
they’re
going
to
blast

 
 
 






our
heads
off
–
and
you
want
to
shave?
 
 Joe
 
 
 





Shave
our
legs
stupid.
 
 Stupid
is
right.
Jerry
still
doesn’t
get
it.
 
 Joe
 
 (into
phone;
his
voice
a
 








tremulous
soprano)
 
 
 





Hello?
Mr.
Poliakoff?
I
understand
you’re

 
 
 





looking
for
a
couple
of
girl
musicians.
 
 Now
Jerry
gets
it.




 
 Wilder
and
Diamond
continue
to
develop
Joe
and
Jerry
in
their
conversation
here.
 We
understand
that
Joe
is
sort
of
the
leader,
the
brains
of
the
operation.
We
also
see
 that
Jerry
goes
along
with
Joe’s
ideas.
(Earlier,
Jerry
went
along
with
Joe’s
gambling
 scheme,
in
which
both
men
lost
their
overcoats
in
a
bet,
during
a
snowy
Chicago
 winter.
Jerry
says
he
won’t
go
along
with
Joe’s
plots,
but
as
we
see
throughout
the
 entire
film
–
from
this
situation
to
Jerry’s
forced
date
with
Osgood
–
Jerry
never
 quite
says
no.)
Joe’s
leadership
and
scheming
go
hand
in
hand
with
his
alter
ego
 Josephine.
Even
as
a
girl,
he
can’t
help
but
come
with
plans
to
get
what
he
wants
 (ironically,
this
is
Sugar,
who
is
also
a
girl).
He
becomes
Junior
–
Shell
Oil’s
youngest
 and
most
handsome
executive.
We
think
that
his
ideas
are
all
doomed
–
both
 Josephine
and
Junior.
But
in
the
end,
things
could
not
have
worked
out
better
for
 him.
And
so
goes
Jerry/Daphne.
By
following
along
with
Joe’s
plans,
Jerry
gets
 involved
with
millionaire
Osgood
Fielding.
Eventually,
he
comes
up
with
a
plan
of
 his
own
–
marry
Osgood
then
divorce
him
for
the
money.
This
scheme
is
even
more
 outlandish.
But
once
again,
Wilder
and
Diamond
surprise
us
with
a
legendary
and





4


hysterically
funny
ending.
Joe’s
leadership
and
Jerry’s
zaniness
are
embedded
in
our
 subconscious
more
and
more
as
we
effortlessly
listen
to
their
dialogue.
 
 So
far
we
have
established
that
solid
script
dialogue
must
be
believable,
engaging,
 purposeful
and
should
establish
the
characters.
But
one
thing
must
be
made
clear
in
 regards
to
screenplay
dialogue:
don’t
spell
it
out.
Wilder
and
Diamond
do
not,
for
 example,
include
the
following
dialogue
in
their
Some
Like
It
Hot
screenplay:
 
 Joe:
 
 
 
 
 




Here
is
the
plan.
We
will
dress
up

 
 
 
 




as
woman,
play
in
the
all
girls
band,

 
 
 
 




make
money,
stay
at
a
nice
hotel,

 
 
 
 




escape
from
Chicago
so
we
don’t
get

 
 
 
 
 




killed
by
Spats
Columbo
since
we

 
 
 
 




witnessed
his
previous
murders,
and

 
 
 
 




maybe
meet
a
nice
girl.
What
do
you

 
 
 
 




think
jerry?
 
 Jerry:
 
 
 
 
 




Sounds
good
Joe.
Except
while
I’m

 
 
 
 




pretending
to
be
a
girl,
I
think
 
 
 
 




I
might
meet
a
nice
millionaire,
then

 
 
 
 




divorce
him
and
make
a
large
alimony

 
 
 
 




check
every
month.

If
he
doesn’t
mind

 
 
 
 




that
I’m
a
man
too,
we
can
stay
married

 
 
 
 




as
long
as
he
doesn’t
try
any
funny
business.

 
 Joe:
 
 
 
 
 




Whatever
you
say
Jerry.
No
let’s
get

 
 
 
 




packed,
stuff
a
couple
bras,
shave
our

 
 
 
 




legs,
put
on
makeup
and
high
heels,
and

 
 
 
 




go
to
the
train
station
where
we
will
meet

 
 
 
 




with
the
band
and
head
to
Florida.

 
 Jerry:
 
 
 
 




Yes
let’s
do
that.

 
 If
this
is
what
we
saw
on
screen,
we
would
first
of
all
be
bored,
and
second
of
all
we
 would
be
over
informed.
A
writer
need
not
divulge
every
detail
of
the
plot
word
for
 word
to
the
audience.
The
fun
is
in
the
subtext.
Subtext
is
the
implied
meaning
of
the
 dialogue.
For
example,
if
someone
says,
“I’m
going
to
buy
a
sandwich,”
they
do
not
 also
need
to
point
out
that,
a)
they
are
hungry,
and
b)
that
they
have
the
money
to
 buy
said
sandwich.
We
gather
that
from
their
original
statement.
It
is
the
same
way





5


with
dialogue.
In
the
above
script
excerpts,
subtext
runs
rampant.
When
Jerry
 remarks
that
he
would
like
to,
“Borrow
a
cup
of
that
Sugar,”
we
understand
that
he
 really
means
he
wants
to
get
with
Sugar.
When
he
says,
“How
about
the
shape
of
 that
liquor
cabinet,”
we
know
intuitively
that
he
is
commenting
on
Sugar’s
legs.
In
 the
next
excerpt,
we
see
more
implied
meaning.
When
Joe
tells
Jerry
that
they
are
 going
to
shave
their
legs,
we
really
do
not
need
any
further
explanation.
We
can
 assume
that
they
are
going
to
pretend
they
are
women
to
be
in
the
women’s
band
 and
escape
Spats
and
his
henchmen.
 
 Good
dialogue
is
actually
simpler
to
write
than
you’d
think.

When
writing
it,
one
 must
consider
first
of
all,
what
sounds
believable.
Will
this
interaction
convince
my
 audience
that
the
situation
is
in
fact
real?
Next
consider,
is
this
dialogue
going
to
 keep
my
audience
interested,
and
does
it
serve
a
significant
purpose?
Am
I
just
 rambling
off
facts,
and
including
no
normal
language
or
exciting
syntax?
And
finally,
 consider
implied
meaning
and
subtext.
How
little
can
you
divulge
to
the
audience
 while
still
keeping
them
involved
and
up
to
speed?
The
art
is
in
making
what
is
said
 convey
what
is
unsaid.
In
Some
Like
It
Hot,
Billy
Wilder
and
I.A.L.
Diamond
penned
a
 fresh
and
lively
script
that
manages
to
never
lose
us
nor
lose
steam.
Jack
Lemmon
 and
Tony
Curtis
personified
the
brilliant
dialogue
and
subtext,
key
word
being
 brilliant.
Wilder
and
Diamond
thought
of
everything
–
puns,
irony,
clarification,
 sarcasm,
humor,
seriousness,
innuendo,
subtext.

They
established
characters
 through
dialogue
that
rank
near
the
top
of
the
list
in
terms
of
film’s
greatest
and
 most
memorable
characters
of
all
time.
And
if
we
can
take
these
writing
elements
 and
put
them
into
use,
then
originality,
wit,
smarts,
and
masterful
construction
will
 inevitably
be
the
result.
But
if
you
try
your
best
and
still
don’t
bang
out
a
script
as
 savvy
as
Some
Like
It
Hot,
keep
in
mind,
“Nobody’s
perfect.”