The Apartment (1960)

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder (written by) and
I.A.L. Diamond (written by)

Release Date:

16 September 1960 (West Germany)

Genre:

Romance | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A Billy "Some Like It Hot" Wilder Production

Plot:

A man tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.

Plot Keywords:

Cynicism | Attempted Suicide | Corporation | Broken Mirror | Christmas Party

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Sept. 3

12:45 AM

TCM

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	Calvin Clifford 'C.C.' Baxter
Shirley MacLaine	...	Fran Kubelik
Fred MacMurray	...	Jeff D. Sheldrake
Ray Walston	...	Joe Dobisch
Jack Kruschen	...	Dr. Dreyfuss
David Lewis	...	Al Kirkeby
Hope Holiday	...	Mrs. Margie MacDougall
Joan Shawlee	...	Sylvia
Naomi Stevens	...	Mrs. Mildred Dreyfuss
Johnny Seven	...	Karl Matuschka
Joyce Jameson	...	The Blonde
Willard Waterman	...	Mr. Vanderhoff
David White	...	Mr. Eichelberger
Edie Adams	...	Miss Mary Olsen - Sheldrake's Secretary

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (1994) | Canada:G (Quebec) (2000) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #19647) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

205 Columbus Avenue, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

The name on the door next to Baxter's office is T.W.Plews. Tom Plews was the prop master.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Prior to the introduction of microwaves years later, C.C. Baxter could never have popped a frozen TV dinner in an oven, cooked it and sat down to dinner within the short time span he does in the movie - the space of a few minutes.

Quotes:

[first lines]
C.C. Baxter: [narrating] On November 1st, 1959, the population of New York City was 8,042,783. If you laid all these people end to end, figuring an average height of five feet six and a half inches, they would reach from Times Square to the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan. I know facts like this because I work for an insurance company - Consolidated Life of New York. We're one of the top five companies in the country. Our home office has 31,259 employees, which is more than the entire population of uhh...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Happy Days: The Apartment (#5.7)" (1977)

Soundtrack:

The Jealous Lover

corporate sex ladder

A struggling office worker in a giant insurance company lends his apartment to higher ups in order to get a promotion. Set during the Holidays, the theme of infidelity turned a lot of viewers off. The Holiday setting however is what provides a lot of the film's best scenes, as in the fantastic office Christmas party where the secretaries are doing a CanCan on the table and couples are making out in the corner. The one-two punch of Jack Lemmon's classic performance and that of Fred MacMurray is fabulous, and the triangle of sorts that forms with Shirley McClaine makes this much more than the comedy that it is known for.