The Apartment (1960)

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

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

Release Date:

16 September 1960 (France)

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:

Apartment | Executive | Insurance | Elevator | Divorce

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	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 Olsen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dorothy Abbott	...	Office Worker (uncredited)
Bill Baldwin	...	TV Movie Host (uncredited)
Benny Burt	...	Charlie - Bartender (uncredited)
Mason Curry	...	(uncredited)
Frances Weintraub Lax	...	Mrs. Lieberman (uncredited)
David Macklin	...	Messenger (uncredited)
Hal Smith	...	Man in Santa Claus Suit (uncredited)

Directed by
Billy Wilder

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

Produced by
I.A.L. Diamond	....	associate producer
Doane Harrison	....	associate producer
Billy Wilder	....	producer

Original Music by
Adolph Deutsch

Cinematography by
Joseph LaShelle

Film Editing by
Daniel Mandell

Art Direction by
Alexandre Trauner		(as Alexander Trauner)

Set Decoration by
Edward G. Boyle

Makeup Department
Harry Ray	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Allen K. Wood	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hal W. Polaire	....	assistant director (as Hal Polaire)
Angelo Laiacona	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Tom Plews	....	property master
Harold Michelson	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Del Harris	....	sound effects editor
Fred Lau	....	sound
Gordon Sawyer	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Milt Rice	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Bert Chaliacombe	....	best boy (uncredited)
Hugh Crawford	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Jack Harris	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Karl Reed	....	key grip (uncredited)
William Schurr	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Don Stott	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Forrest T. Butler	....	wardrobe: men (uncredited)
Irene Caine	....	wardrobe: women (uncredited)

Music Department
Sid Sidney	....	music editor
John Williams	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
May Wale Brown	....	continuity (as May Wale)
Dr. Reuben Kaufman	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Miriam Nelson	....	choreographer (uncredited)
Joe Palma	....	stand-in: Jack Lemmon (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Mirisch Corporation, The

Distributors

• United Artists (1960) (USA) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Park Circus (2008) (UK) (theatrical) (re-issue)
• Seven Films (2007) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-issue)
• Seven Films (2008) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-issue)
• United Artists (1960) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1967) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM Home Entertainment (Europe) (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (collector's edition)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Triage Motion Picture Services  2003 restoration

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:

Wilder directed Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959). He grew to despise her demands for star treatment and her poor work ethic, and thus included the party-girl Monroe-esque character in this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: A week-old strand of spaghetti on Baxter's tennis racquet is still soft and pliable.

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:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Capriccio Italien, Op. 45

Some Like it Dark - Wilder and Dark Comedy

Billy Wilder knew how to make a great movie. Of course it helps to have one of the greatest all-time actors, Jack Lemon, play in your movies, but Lemon aside, Wilder was a genius. His gift for the comedic moment showed brilliantly on screen and reached deep inside the audience.

The Apartment, the last of the great Black and White films, showed a bit darker side to comedy than some of his other romps such as the hilarious Some Like It Hot. Some Like It Hot is just as funny today as it was in 1959. It is pure fun. At no point in the film are we approached with anything that we would take seriously. Let's face it, most of us are not running from the mob disguised as a member from the opposite sex.

The Apartment, however, brings up much more human themes and issues. Wilder is an expert and at no time does he leave you worried that it will turn out badly. This is, after all, a comedy. One mistake in the script and the movie could quickly become a deep film about suicide, loneliness, and peer pressure, but Wilder balances the subjects on the edge of a knife and allows us to smile at what could otherwise be a very depressing movie.

Wilder and his films like The Apartment are very similar to Shakespeare's comedies. It can be said that the difference between a Shakespeare comedy and tragedy is often not the story, but the ending. In a comedy, everyone is married; in a tragedy, everyone dies. the same is true with The Apartment, it all hinges on the outcomes. If Kubelik dies or Baxter is left alone, the movie would be a tragedy. But since they prevail in the end, the movie comes off as a great comedic success, albeit a bit dark.