FAQ for
Irma la Douce (1963) More at IMDbPro »

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No. Irma la Douce is based on the French stage musical of the same name by Alexandre Breffort (play) and Marquerite Monnot (music). It was adapted for the screen by Romanian-born comedy writer I.A.L. Diamond and Austrian-born film-maker Billy Wilder. The film version of Irma la Douce, however, is not a musical.

At the very beggining of the movie, it is explained that "Irma la Douce" is French for "Irma the Sweet".

Irma (Shirley MacLaine) claims that Lord X (Jack Lemmon) is the father, whereas Nestor (Jack Lemmon) believes that the baby is his. They're probably both right. Nestor was sentenced to 15 years in prison for "killing" Lord X, but he escaped after nine months. Nine months prior, Irma had not been seeing any clients except for Lord X, and Nestor was too tired to be doing anything what with holding down his secret job at the abbatoir. It's insinuated in the movie that the only time Irma could have done anything that led to pregnancy was the night that she raised Lord X's passions with her sex therapy involving fantasies about Tahitian and harem girls.

After Irma delivers the baby and Nestor is at her side, Moustache (Lou Jacobi) leaves the room, goes back into the church, and sees Lord X rise from one of the pews and walk past him, saying something like "Cheeri-bye." Moustache looks back into the room to assure himself that Nestor is still at Irma's side (he is). So who is this other Lord X? Some viewers conclude that there really was a Lord X, others see it as a touch of mystery à la Alfred Hitchcock, some have suggested that Moustache always was a bit off his rocker, but most see it simply as a nonsensical, screwball ending to a nonsensical, screwball comedy. At any rate, that's another story.

Billy Wilder [1906-2002] has an extensive list of movies that he has either written, directed, and/or produced. Viewers who have seen Irma La Douce also place The Apartment (1960) at the top of their list because it reunites Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Other Wilder films that star Jack Lemmon include Some Like It Hot (1959) and Avanti! (1972). Also recommended are Sabrina (1954), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), and One, Two, Three (1961).