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The Apartment
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Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 11% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Billy Wilder
Writers:
Billy Wilder (written by) and
I.A.L. Diamond (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Apartment on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 September 1960 (France) more
Genre:
Romance | Comedy | Drama more
Tagline:
A Billy "Some Like It Hot" Wilder Production more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 5 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 8 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(15 articles)
An Education From Oliver Stone
 (From Vanity Fair. 6 October 2009, 8:19 PM, PDT)
September. It's a Wrap
 (From FilmExperience. 30 September 2009, 8:59 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
One of my favorite movies more (175 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

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)
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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)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
125 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
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 more
Company:
Mirisch Corporation, The more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
According to Shirley MacLaine on her official web site, much of the movie was written as filming progressed. The gin rummy game was added because at the time she was learning how to play the game from her friends in the Rat Pack. Likewise, when she started philosophizing about love during a lunch break one day, this was also added to the script. more
Goofs:
Boom mic visible: (Widescreen version only) The shadow of a boom mic is visible in the upper left portion of the screen as C. C. Baxter is rushing to open his apartment door after being alerted to an odor of gas by his landlady. more
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...
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Night Court: The Apartment (#3.15)" (1986) more
Soundtrack:
The Jealous Lover more

FAQ

Is this movie based on a novel?
Why didn't Fran recognize the name on Baxter's prescription?
Was slapping really the prescription for overdosed patients back in the 1960s?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
32 out of 36 people found the following comment useful.
One of my favorite movies, 23 April 2002
10/10
Author: john zapata (johnpaulzpt@yahoo.com) from los angeles, CA

After the first time I saw The Apartment, I admired it so much and placed it in my favorite movies list. After watching it a second time on widescreen and digitally remastered DVD, my love for it just deepened. I was once again touched by Shirley MacLaine's portrayal of Miss Kubelik, a lovely but unlucky in love woman. I also laughed again at Jack Lemmon's perfect delivery of one-liners and other mannerisms.

Billy Wilder made The Apartment right after the huge success of his last film, Some Like It Hot, also with Jack Lemmon. The Apartment is not as funny, but it is more accomplished and deeper in meaning. Watching it in widescreen made me appreciate more the complexity of the story. Widescreen shots of C.C. Baxter's (Lemmon) apartment shows emptiness and loneliness. The shot of Baxter's office, which has employees in desks that seem to extend into eternity, shows that Baxter is just a faceless man in a populated world.

C.C. Baxter is an ambitious employee in an insurance company. He tries to work himself to a promotion by allowing his philandering bosses to use his apartment as a perfect hideaway. As an exchange for the use of his apartment, his bosses put him in the top ten of the efficiency reports. After getting a promotion and successfully asking the elevator girl Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine) on a date, everything was going well for Baxter. Until he finds out that Miss Kubelik is the mistress of his big boss J.D. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray).

Miss Kubelik and Sheldrake had a summer affair and Sheldrake wants Kubelik back admitting that he still loves her. Showing vulnerability, she agrees to get back together and ends up using Baxter's apartment twice a week. Naturally there will be problems. Sheldrake could not break up his marriage, and Kubelik does not like how the relationship is going but couldn't help being in love with him. Kubelik summed it up when she said `when you're in love with a married man, you shouldn't wear mascara.'

For Baxter, things couldn't be more complex. He wants to keep getting promotions but he might lose Kubelik in the process. He adores Kubelik but he doesn't want to be unemployed. Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond's script couldn't have been better written. It ranks up there with the likes of great scripts of Casablanca and Citizen Kane. They filled it with small intricate details and such funny lines. The Apartment is very ingenious and inspirational. When I wasn't laughing, I was smiling.

Billy Wilder perfected the style of satirical filmmaking. In The Apartment, he touches a lot of subjects. The movie deals with adultery, suicide, loneliness, and corporate cutthroats. The movie won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but surprisingly, no acting Oscars. I have seen many romantic comedies, and while many are good, most of them do not have the same heart and warmth as The Apartment. It is in my list of top ten favorite movies because it entertained me, inspired me, and showed me how to live… human-wise.

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