From writer and director Billy Wilder comes a film that perfectly captures the lonely doldrums that are the week between Christmas and New Years.
Jack Lemon stars as C.C. Baxter, a clerk in a monolithic Manhattan insurance company. He works his way up the corporate ladder by letting upper managers use his bachelor pad for their extramarital liaisons. The neighbors, who constantly hear a string of women coming and going from his apartment, assume he is some kind of lothario, a misunderstanding that leads to some very funny moments and some surprisingly kind ones. Things get complicated when his ladder climbing collides with his own romantic interests.
Shirley Maclaine is Fran Kubelik, an elevator operator in Baxter’s office building. The two have a flirtation and he asks her out, only to be stood up when she meets up with big boss Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray), who has been stringing her along with promises of leaving his wife. Unbeknownst to Fran, Sheldrake takes her to Baxter’s own apartment, a coincidence that will bring Baxter and Kubelik together in an unexpected and dramatic way.
The film also stars Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, Davis Lewis, Hope Holiday, and Edie Adams, as well as a company of office workers, neighbors, and unnamed ladies.
Wilder and co-writer I.A.L. Diamond deliver a script that is as funny as it is insightful; dark and hopeful. It handles serious topics with grace, charm, and honesty. It’s easy to see why The Apartment won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
In 1960, The Apartment received 10 Academy Award nominations, winning 5. Billy Wilder took home 3 statuettes for co-writing, as well as for directing, and for Best Picture. The film also won prizes for Film Editing (Daniel Mandell) and Art Direction – Black and White (Alexander Trauner, Edward G. Boyle). Jack Lemon, Shirley Maclaine, and Jack Kruschen (Dr. Dreyfuss) were each nominated for their performances.
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