The Apartment (1960)

Star Rating: 2
Length of Film: 125 minutes
Director: Billy Wilder
Cast: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Watson, Jack Kruschen, David Lewis, Hope Holiday, Joan Shawlee, Naomi Stevens, Johnny Seven, Joyce  Jameson, Willard Waterman, David White, Edie Adams
Oscars: Billy Wilder (best picture), Billy Wilder (director), I.A.L. Diamond (screenplay), Alexandre Trauner, Edward G. Boyle (art direction), Daniel Mandell (editing)
Oscar Nominations: jack lemmon (actor), Shirley MacLaine (actress), jack Kruschen (actor in support role), Joseph LaShelle (photography), Gordon Sawyer (sound)
Venice Film Festival: Shirley MacLaine (volpi cup- actress), Billy Wilder (Golden Lion nomination)


C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is an accountant at a firm and is loaning out his apartment to executives so they can rendezvous with their mistresses. In the beginning, he has no backbone, he actually leaves his bed at 11 pm, when one of his guys telephones him stating he has a woman that looks likes Marilyn Monroe. At work, it's rows and rows of desks, with a Rolodex, and typewriter on the desk. The office reminds me soooo much of the tv show Mad Men. Baxter is sitting at his desk, worried that his long awaited promotion won't actually happen.

Baxto\er was called into personnel director Mr. Sheldrake's (Fred MacMurray) office where he offered him a job, IF he received a key to Mr. Baxter's apartment, for tonight. He then offers him 2 tickets to The Music Man. Excited about the promotion, he rides the elevator down to his floor to pack and he chats with elevator operator Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), inviting her to The Music Man. She informs him she's meeting someone for a drink, but she'll meet him at the theater. Her date is with Mr. Sheldrake. Fran is the lady that Mr. Sheldrake wants to bring over to Mr. Baxter's.



Mr. Sheldrake ( Fred MacMurray)

 Christmas rolls around and Mr. Sheldrake breaks it off with Fran, leaves her with $100 cash as a Christmas gift and leaves her in Mr. Baxter's apartment. The next part will SHOCK YOU! Desperate Fran...

The neighbor Mr. Dreyfus, Fran, & Baxter 

From watching all these movies from the 1,001 movies you must see before you die, I've noticed a pattern; a pattern where movies that are shocking for the time period, make the list. This movie is about adultery executive men (5 of them) who all have another woman on the side. They conned an innocent, naive man into letting them borrow his apartment so they don't get caught by their wives. This movie also touches on the topic of suicide. I'm sorry, but a movie about adulters and women who try to commit suicide that their married boyfriend breaks up with them, isn't a movie that I'd consider "amazing".


The funniest part of the movie was when Baxter was making spaghetti and uses a tennis racket as a strainer.