What 1963 Billy Wilder comedy stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine?

Irma la Douce is the 1963 Billy Wilder comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Lemmon plays Nestor Patou, an idealistic Paris police officer who loses his job and falls in love with Irma, a popular street worker portrayed by MacLaine.

The film was adapted from a successful French stage musical created by Alexandre Breffort and Marguerite Monnot. Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond reshaped the material into a long-form romantic farce, retaining the Paris setting but removing the songs. The movie runs 147 minutes and combines studio-built streets with location footage filmed in Paris.

MacLaine replaced Marilyn Monroe, who had originally been considered for the role. Her casting reunited her with Wilder after The Apartment, while Lemmon had already worked with Wilder on Some Like It Hot and The Apartment. The film earned five Academy Award nominations and won for André Previn’s music. It is sometimes mistaken for a conventional musical because of its source material, but Wilder’s film is officially a non-musical comedy.