Some Like It Hot hailed as funniest film ever made

Classic cross-dressing comedy Some Like It Hot has been acclaimed by American film experts as the funniest film ever made.

The 1959 movie, starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe, beat off competition from cross-dressing love tale Tootsie and Peter Sellers's bleak Dr Strangelove to claim the top spot.

Some Like It Hot, about two musicians escaping from the wrath of the Mafia by joining an all-female band, has enjoyed classic status for more than 40 years.

The movie tops a survey conducted among US film industry professionals to provide a definitive list of the 100 greatest comedies.

The survey, selected by the American Film Institute's blue ribbon panel of more than 1,500 experts, forms the basis for the programme 100 Years ... 100 Laughs to be shown on Channel 4 on Saturday.

Despite the huge box office success of recent comedies such as American Pie and Austin Powers, few recent films have been deemed worthy of inclusion in their top 100 with the most highly rated being There's Something About Mary at 27.

The list by film industry professionals contrasts markedly with a survey carried out by the AFI of the US public's favourite comedies.

The number one spot is taken by 1982 college comedy Porky's followed by 1994 caper Dumb and Dumber, starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.

The top ten funniest films voted by the American Film Institute were: 1 Some Like It Hot (1959) 2 Tootsie (1982) 3 Dr. Strangelove (1964) 4 Annie Hall (1977) 5 Duck Soup (1933) 6 Blazing Saddles (1974) 7 M*A*S*H (1970) 8 It Happened One Night (1934) 9 The Graduate (1967) 10 Airplane! (1980).

The top ten as voted for by the US public were: 1 Porky's 2 Dumb and Dumber 3 Blazing Saddles 4 Life with Father 5 The Great Race 6 The Jerk 7 Back to the Future 8 Airplane! 9 The Princess Bride 10 Raising Arizona.