FAQ for
The Apartment (1960) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

The Apartment was taken from a screenplay by producer and director Billy Wilder. It is said that Wilder thought of the idea for the film after seeing Brief Encounter (1945).

The Apartment is a story about a man (Bud Baxter, played by Jack Lemmon) who attempts to climb the corporate ladder by renting out his apartment to fellow executives, including his boss Mr Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray), who is having an affair with elevator operator Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine). The situation becomes complicated when Bud falls in love with Fran.

Baxter has a cold because the previous night, Mr. Kirkeby [David Lewis] kept him waiting outside in the rain until 8:45 when he was supposed to be out of the apartment by 8:00. Then, once Baxter was settled back inside, Mr. Dobisch [Ray Walston] rang him up without a reservation because he'd found a girl in a bar. Baxter went out in his raincoat with only his pajamas on underneath, wearing slippers over stocking feet. While waiting for Dobisch, he sat on a bench in Central Park in the wind and rain and fell asleep. When he returned to the apartment, he found that Dobisch had left the wrong key under the mat (it was for the executive washroom), so at 4:00 a.m. he had to wake the landlady. The way the cold fits into the plot is that it's a way to show why Baxter isn't completely satisfied with the arrangement.

Most viewers chalk that up to her state of mind at the time. Even if she did notice the name "Baxter", she had no reason to suspect that it could be the same Mr Baxter from the 19th floor. If she noticed the initials C.C., or even his real name, she might not have known it was him because everyone at work called him "Bud". Then we're back to the original premise...that her state of mind at the time probably didn't lend itself to lengthy analyses.

Depending on the time elapsed, the nature of the drug, and the amount of the drug taken, they may have pumped her stomach or given her known antidotes. However, the doctor was in an emergency situation, far from a hospital and probably not carrying an array of antidotes in his little black bag. His best option at the time was to keep Fran conscious. To do this, he slapped her face and made her respond to his questions. He fed her coffee and walked her around the room. It worked.

Sheldrake's wife left him when she found out about his affairs, so he and Fran began a more exclusive relationship. When Sheldrake asks Baxter for his apartment key, Baxter refuses to give it to him. Sheldrake then tells Baxter that he can choose either to give him the key or to lose his job. Baxter quits and decides to move away. While Sheldrake and Fran are on a New Year's date, Fran finds out about Baxter refusing to give the key to Sheldrake; she realizes that Baxter really loves her and she could eventually love him. She runs to his apartment, catches him before he moves out, and they finish their gin game. Shut up and deal!