The Apartment

Plot synopsis:
Calvin Clifford (C. C.) "Bud" Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is a lonely office drudge at a national insurance corporation in a high-rise building in New York City. In order to climb the corporate ladder, Bud allows four company managers, who reinforce their position over him by regularly calling him "Buddy Boy," to take turns borrowing his Upper West Side apartment for their various extramarital liaisons, which are so noisy that his neighbors assume that he is a playboy bringing home different women every night.
The four managers (Ray Walston, David Lewis, Willard Waterman, and David White) write glowing reports about Bud, who hopes for a promotion from the personnel director, Jeff D. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray). Sheldrake calls Baxter to his office but says that he has found out why they were so enthusiastic. Then he goes on to promote him in return for exclusive privileges to borrow the apartment. He insists on using it that same night and, as compensation for such short notice, gives Baxter two company-sponsored tickets to the hit Broadway musical The Music Man.
After work, Bud catches Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), an elevator operator on whom he has had his eye, and asks her to go to the musical with him. They agree to meet at the theater after she has a drink with a former fling. The man whom she meets, by coincidence, is Sheldrake, who convinces her that he is about to divorce his wife for her. They go to Baxter's apartment as Baxter waits forlornly outside the theater.
Several weeks later, at the company's raucous Christmas party, Sheldrake's secretary Miss Olsen (Edie Adams), drunkenly reveals to Fran that Fran is just the latest in a string of female employees whom Sheldrake has seduced into affairs with the promise of divorcing his wife, with Miss Olsen herself being one of them. At Bud's apartment, Fran confronts Sheldrake, upset with herself for believing his lies. Sheldrake maintains that he genuinely loves her but then leaves to return to his suburban family as usual.
Meanwhile, Bud accidentally finds out about Sheldrake and Fran. Heartbroken, he lets himself be picked up by a woman (Hope Holiday) at a local bar. When they arrive at his apartment, he is shocked to find Fran in his bed, fully clothed and unconscious from an intentional overdose of his sleeping pills. He enlists the help of his neighbor, Dr. Dreyfuss (Jack Kruschen), to revive Fran without notifying the authorities and sends his confused bar pickup home. To protect his job, he lets Dreyfuss believe that he and Fran are lovers who had fought, which he took so lightly that he was meeting another woman while she was attempting suicide. This comes as no surprise to Dr. Dreyfuss or his wife, who long assumed Baxter was a womanizing playboy from all the noise coming from his apartment at all hours. Fran spends two days recuperating at his apartment, while Bud tries entertaining and distracting her from any further suicidal thoughts, talking her into playing numerous hands of gin rummy.
Since she has been missing, Fran's brother-in-law Karl Matuschka (Johnny Seven) comes to the office looking for her. She has not been there and neither has Baxter. The previous day, one of the executives had seen Fran in the bedroom when he came to the apartment hoping to borrow it, and mentioned it to the other executives. Resenting Bud for denying them access to his apartment, the executives direct the man there. Baxter again takes responsibility for Fran's actions, and Karl punches him twice in the face. Fran kisses Bud for not revealing her affair with Sheldrake to Karl, and Bud, sensing that she now cares for him, smiles and says the punch "didn't hurt a bit".
Sheldrake rewards Bud with a further promotion and fires Miss Olsen for telling Fran his history of womanizing. However, Miss Olsen retaliates by telling his wife, who promptly throws him out. Sheldrake moves into a room at his athletic club but now figures that he can string Fran along while he enjoys his newfound bachelorhood. When Sheldrake asks Bud for the key to the apartment on New Year's Eve, Bud refuses and quits the firm. That night at a party, an indignant Sheldrake tells Fran about Bud refusing to let Sheldrake use the apartment, especially for bringing Fran there, and then quitting. Fran finally realizes that Baxter is the man who truly loves her. Fran deserts Sheldrake at the party and runs to Bud's apartment. Arriving at the door, she hears a loud noise like a gunshot. Afraid that Bud has shot himself, calling back to when he shared a story of his own suicide attempt, Fran pounds on the door. Bud, holding a bottle of overflowing champagne, finally opens the door, surprised and delighted that Fran is there. Bud has been packing for a move to another job and city. Fran insists on resuming their gin rummy game, telling Bud that she is now free as well. When he declares his love for her, her reply is the now-famous final line of the film: "Shut up and deal", delivered with a loving and radiant smile.

Tags: revenge, comedy, satire, romantic

Review:
There's even a game of gin rummy to get into that Baxter and Fran can't ever seem to finish--here's hoping it never does!THE APARTMENT is one of those truly classic classic movies--for one thing, it has an absolutely top-notch cast, featuring Jack Lemmon (at his wryly humourous best); Shirley MacLaine (a glowing screen presence); Fred MacMurray (smarm personified); and a younger Ray Walston (still wisecracking, still hilarious).
It was my introduction to the great Billy Wilder, and my fondness for Jack Lemmon (a remarkable and sorely missed actor) begins here as well.*SOME SPOILERS* The cold take on the sex-and-money ethos to be found in many corporate environments hasn't dated one bit; it could be argued that THE APARTMENT stands a bit ahead of its' time in the depiction of (what would appear to be) educated employees treated like (and feeling like) tools to be used in generation of someone else's income.
Of course, Lemmon's character isn't entirely above it all; he's been more than willing to hire out his own apartment as a place for his colleagues' peccadilloes, in exchange for career advancement, which of course - as Wilder early on links amoral sexual conduct and professional/corporate/financial misconduct in a greater social critique - gets him into trouble.The dialogue is - as is always true with Wilder - very finely crafted, yet seems natural - this film is a remarkable display of the kind of reactions any of us would offer in similar situations.
Written by the great filmmaker Billy Wilder, this is a serious, sardonic comedy for people who've known what's its like to feel the pressure of compromising your principles or your self- respect for the sake of getting ahead in life.
But they still had enough bad taste to deny Jack Lemmon a Best Actor award, Shirley MacLaine a Best Actress award and Fred MacMurray a nomination and award.The plot this time: C.C. Baxter (Lemmon; in case you're wondering: "C for Calvin C for Clifford, but most people call me "Bud")lends out his apartment to executives for their extramarital trysts in the faint hope of a promotion.
That is a strong trait of most Wilder films (including "Kiss Me, Stupid" and "The Fortune Cookie", both hilarious comedies with a hidden meaning)Also the dialogue by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond isn't just one-liners (although they are funny; especially when spoken by Lemmon and Ray Walston)There is real heartfelt sentiment here and it isn't the syrupy kind that makes my stomach churn (as in films like "Patch Adams") Wilder allows enough to make his points and then gets back to comedy.The cinematography is fabulous too.
Wilder's film (as most of his 60s films) is in widescreen Black and White (shot by Joseph LaShelle, in Panavision; one of the most unsung and unrecognized cinematographers in history, he was nominated but lost) It has a crisp,clean look and is one of the few widescreen films that actually make the viewer feel confined in a tight space."The Apartment" is a superior example of the "serious comedy", films that work as both comedy and drama.
Jack Lemmon (in amazing comic form) plays a working stiff in Corporate America--via New York City--whose bachelor apartment inadvertently becomes a love-nest for amorous, married executives.
The whole sub-plot of the four guys wanting to use Lemmon's apartment for their evening tyrsts is dropped and Wilder smartly concentrates on Lemmon, MacLaine and MacMurray and the film creates true magic.The Apartment is more of a drama than a comedy and balances the two elements perfectly.
can bring many viewers to tears, Billy Wilder's quaint little tale about everyday people who get tangled up in love, jealousy and infidelity boasts a top-notch cast led by the trio of Lemmon, MacLaine and MacMurray who are tremendous.
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..
The Apartment is about becoming somebody rather than being something that someone uses.Jack Lemmon creates C.C. Baxter the young aspiring workman who just wants to have a good career and the perfect woman.
I think there are times in every man's life where you probably feel like C.C. Baxter in one way or another.Jack Lemmon perfectly progresses with his character to make himself one of the most distinguishable character actors ever.
Billy Wilder's The Apartment was one of a huge list of movies that are considered classics which I haven't seen, and indeed knew very little about (other than the level of admiration which many people have for it).
Having a vague knowledge of the stars of the film (Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine), for one reason or another I was expecting a light-hearted comedy filled with innuendo and witty banter, a tradition of filmmaking that was common around the period when this film was released.
What follows is a touching, and at times heart-wrenching flowering of Baxter and Fran's relationship, and if the ending is a little predictable, the journey getting there is really something wonderful.The Apartment features an excellent selection of fully-formed support characters, but the film really belongs to Lemmon and MacLaine.
Her chemistry with Lemmon is palpable, and when they inevitably end up together, it's one of those truly satisfying romantic moments seen all too rarely in modern cinema.I'm not usually one to get nostalgic when it comes to film periods, but while I do have great fondness for many more recent romantic comedies, Hollywood really doesn't make movies like The Apartment any more.
Fran, the elevator operator, has just found out she is one of many affairs for big boss Mr. Sheldrake (Fred McMurray), whom she genuinely loves, and when she and Sheldrake quarrel in Baxter's apartment and Sheldrake leaves her some money for her troubles, unintentionally making her feel even cheaper than she already feels she swallows a bottle of sleeping pills hoping not to wake up, slipping into a coma on Baxter's bed.Things I noticed - this film has lost something with the passage of time in the shock value that was, I think, part of the original appeal.
If you would not have had such strong actors like Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray honestly conquering their roles than this film would not have succeeded as it did.
If you're in the mood for some lighthearted comedic amusement you have definitely come to the wrong film.Our story follows office drone C.C. Baxter whose means of getting ahead in life is to loan out his apartment to higher-ups at his company for their extramarital trysts.
Baxter does eventually fall for pretty elevator operator Fran Kubelik (played so expertly by Shirley McLaine), but does so in a modulated, hesitant way, and only because circumstances begin to arise such that she ends up in his apartment (after being left behind by her lover Sheldrake), and he's left to pick up the pieces of her failed romance literally, just like he's left to collect the litter left behind in his apartment by his higher up bosses after their dalliances.
And what a classic it is.Billy Wilder, the writing talent behind such brilliant works as "Ninotchka", makes this film his second outing after the highly celebrated "Some Like it Hot".
The whole thing ties up well and always leaves you rooting for Baxter's plight.The Apartment is a great romance of its time, neatly directed, great dialogue and excellently delivered by a strong cast.Shirley Maclaine does well to conjure that "something", us men find crazy about the girl-next-door types.
Things get complicated when he falls in love with Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), the mistress of his boss, JD Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray).I first saw The Apartment when I was 17 years old.
A very tricky combination of items that are bundled together, brilliantly, by a master of the craft.THE APARTMENT tells the story of nebbish office worker C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon in an Oscar nominated performance, more on that later) who is talked into lending his apartment to higher-ups in his company so they can carry out extra-marital affairs.
When one of the affairs goes wrong, Baxter is forced to "clean up the mess".Written and Directed by the GREAT Billy WIlder (SOME LIKE IT HOT, SUNSET BOULEVARD), The Apartment is more than a love story, more than a look into the vacuous lives of those anonymous office workers, it is a look into the lives of those who are victims of abuse of power.
The Apartment is strongly written and directed not flinching at the deep subject matter while also balancing things out with moments of comedy and joy, turning what could have been a dour, dark subject into a more joyous exploration of true humanity and love rising through the corruption and abuse of power heaped upon them.In the lead role of CC Baxter, Lemmon is perfectly cast.
It is a comment on the soul-less offices of the day when men like C.C.'s bosses preyed on their female underlings and the loneliness of lives in the big city without community is highlighted.The black and white filming, stark in its depiction of New York, the sound track, the brilliant script which lifts what could be mundane to the level of the sublime, the believable characters of C.C. and Fran (Played by a luminous Shirley Maclaine) who never, even to the end, fall into a maudlin mess, all contribute to get a rare 10 out of 10 from me.Five viewings later, I'm looking forward to my sixth..
In exchange for his services, Baxter is rewarded with high praise and before he knows it he is climbing the corporate ladder to success.The movie also stars Shirley MacLaine as the young woman Baxter falls in love with, and Fred MacMurray as his boss -- and the man who also has his sex-hungry eyes on MacLaine.In fact in one of cinema's greatest cases of irony, Baxter accepts tickets to a play from MacMurray in exchange for a night in his hotel room.
I would recommend this to fans of classic comedies or fans of Shirley maclaine, jack lemmon, and fred macmurray.
The end result is a fine example of classic comedy in best 60's style.The film was shown here on TV last night coinciding with the death of Billy Wilder, but programmed and recorded (presentation, discussion etc.) before he died: a fitting tribute to this European-born man.The film, in black and white, is slightly dated only due to the music, as it is definitely in the style of 40's and 50's melodramas and the like.
A good film, yes, but I really can't see this as a comedy.Jack Lemmon plays a guy who is determined to get ahead at the huge insurance company where he works.
Later he has to come up to a decision between his excellent position in the company and his love."The Apartment" is one of the most delightful movies of Hollywood ever and fairly ranked # 95 in IMDb. In my opinion, Billy Wilder is the best director Hollywood has ever had, and this dramatic comedy is one of his many masterpieces.
And frankly, you really tend to care a great deal, because the film spares us nothing and really holds back on offering us relief until the last few minutes.Jack Lemmon's character is a hard-working employee at an insurance company whom other higher-standing employees use for his apartment, so that they can bring adulterous dates and flings there when they need a place to get busy, always landing Lemmon out on the street for awhile to wait till he can return to the warmth of his home.
In The Apartment, Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a lonely man living and working in New York City.
Jack Lemmon, as usual, is a master of comic delivery, and this is no exception ("...the way it crumbles, cookie-wise.") Shirley MacLaine is superb here, delivering a very real and believable performance as the unlucky-in-love girl, and to think she didn't win an Oscar is a crime.
It is a comedy, but it has a bit of an edge because of some of the tragic subject matter in the story and so it's a more human film than say, Some Like It Hot, another Billy Wilder comedy starring Jack Lemmon.The story is about a Mr. CC "Bud" Baxter and his quest for the career fast track in a large insurance agency.
Jack Lemmon plays a nice guy sad sack and Shirley MacLaine the wayward waif with whom he's smitten in Billy Wilder's bittersweet romantic comedy that's long on the bitter and short on the sweet.Wilder nails the sterile world of corporate American anonymity in this film.
A young man named C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) allows the executives of the company where he works to use his apartment for pleasure, usually with women other than their wives (figures).
Fred MacMurray has a nice turn as a man who never quite understands the girl he brings to Baxter's apartment, and ends up selfishly pushing her over the edge.Of course, Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond have written such a witty and character-driven screenplay, it must've made the actors' jobs easy.
It starts as a comedy with witty setup and turns into a sensitive romantic drama leaving you smiling at the end.Jack Lemmon playing the lead who lets his apartment be used by his bosses for fun is electric.
Sweet, tender, hilarious & heartwarming, The Apartment is a wonderful amalgamation of romance, comedy & drama that's very entertaining from start to finish and subtly deals with the themes of adultery & infidelity by encapsulating its then-controversial subjects with excellent use of wit and remains one of Billy Wilder's best known films.The story of The Apartment concerns a mild-mannered insurance company worker named C.C. Baxter who tries to climb the corporate ladder by letting the company executives use his apartment for their various liaisons.
The plot covers the complications that arises when the company's director also asks Baxter to add him to the list.Gleefully directed by Billy Wilder & deftly scripted too, the film approaches its subject matter in a very light-hearted manner and is crisply photographed, tightly edited, splendidly scored, cleverly witted throughout the course of its runtime & fabulously performed by its cast amongst which Jack Lemmon ends up impressing the most.On an overall scale, The Apartment is an elegantly crafted, endlessly entertaining & exquisitely witted picture that promises loads of fun, laughter & a good time and effortlessly delivers it.
Billy Wilder directed this Academy Award winning(best picture and director) film that stars Jack Lemmon as C.C. Baxter, a poor accountant at a big New York Insurance firm.
One day, the company boss Mr. Sheldrake(played by Fred MacMurray) also requests the use of the apartment, which is fine, except it involves the elevator girl named Fran Kuberlik(played by Shirley MacLaine) that he is secretly in love with.
It has a simple concept but likable story, that also works out due to its characters and actors portraying them.Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine were a great screen-couple.
Billy Wilder's THE APARTMENT is one such "friend" - I take it out every New Year's Eve, pop some popcorn and settle it for an evening with Jack Lemmon, Shirley Maclaine and Fred MacMurray.
This movie won 4 other Oscars-- including director and writer-- and a handful of nominations like nods to the 2 lead roles in Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.
This classic romance has gained a reputation over the decades to be a charming romantic comedy, but even though it's a Billy Wilder movie with Jack Lemmon as the star, it's not really a laugh-out-loud comedy.
The Apartment is my all-time favorite movie alongside The Godfather.I've seen it 6 times so far.This is one of the rare movies that made me applaud for 5 minutes after seeing it.Yes,I love Billy Wilder,his "THE BEST OF" collection should probably consist of 15 movies or so,but I think he really excelled himself with this one.I've never seen a witty,sharp comedy and a strong,satirical drama blended so well.This film is filled with witty one-liners and additional script details so typical of Wilder(the suffix -wise,showing four fingers to indicate three by both main characters,etc.),yet it tackles some very serious issues,such are the loneliness in a big city,insignificance of an individual within a system(the opening scene),infidelity,and even an attempted suicide.The direction is great as usual with Billy in charge.But the real gem of this movie are the actors--Jack Lemmon,one of the most versatile and lovable actors of our time gives possibly the performance of his successful career,as C.C.Baxter who decides to become a mensch.Shirley MacLaine is the best active actress alongside Meryl Streep,and she demonstrates her immense skill as Fran Kubelik,the lovable elevator girl,who can't find true love.There's Fred MacMurray in a perfect role of a family-wrecker,so unusual for him.And the priceless supporting cast-Jack Kruschen,Ray Walston and others-made this movie what it is--an absolute MASTERPIECE!!!I don't know what else to say,except SEE IT(whoever didn't),and to the ones who did SEE IT AGAIN!!!It is shameful that Jack and Shirley didn't get Oscars for their wonderful roles,but that's another story..
Shirley MacLaine, Jack Lemmon & Billy Wilder at their Best!.
Give this great director a script about a lax landlord (Jack Lemmon) who permits all sorts of promiscuity on the premises & a tenant (Shirley MacLaine) involved in trysts, add the element of these two lead actors (MacLaine & Lemmon) falling in love & we've got the classic comedy romance "The Apartment." Ranked in the top 100 films since motion pictures have been made, "The Apartment" lives up to this proud clout most especially because of the on-screen chemistry between Wilder, MacLaine & Lemmon.
This is the most underrated film of either Billy Wilder or Jack Lemmon.
It is worth noting that this movie came out a year after SOME LIKE IT HOT, which was also a big hit for Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder.