The Apartment (1960)

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder (written by) &
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:

Feel Good | Broken Mirror | Gin Rummy | Suicide Thoughts | Record

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 6

4:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	C.C. 'Bud' 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)
Benny Burt	...	Charlie (the bartender) (uncredited)
Mason Curry	...	(uncredited)
Frances Weintraub Lax	...	Mrs. Lieberman (uncredited)
David Macklin	...	Messenger (uncredited)
Hal Smith	...	Santa Claus (uncredited)

Directed by
Billy Wilder

Writing credits
Billy Wilder		(written by) &
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)
Bill 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)
• CBS Television (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) (Collectors Edition)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Park Circus (2008) (UK) (theatrical) (re-issue)
• Seven Films (2007) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-issue)
• Seven Films (2008) (Greece) (theatrical) (reissue)
• United Artists (1960) (France) (theatrical)

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:

This is the first Best Picture Oscar winner to specifically refer to a previous winner, in this case Grand Hotel (1932), which Baxter attempts to watch on television but is too long delayed because of commercials. Bud's boss also refers to Bud and Fran having "a lost weekend" together in Bud's apartment, a reference to Billy Wilder's earlier Oscar winner, The Lost Weekend (1945).

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Sylvia: You mean you bring other girls up here?
Kirkeby: Certainly not! I'm a happily married man.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 50 Films to See Before You Die (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)

Likewise, it's a love-fest Lemmon-wise

One of the finest examples of smart, satiric comedy-drama ever created for the screen. 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 film is extremely modern for 1960 and features a non-stop barrage of funny, clever talk. Lemmon is a mad genius at frenzied (yet sympathetic) characterization, and "The Apartment' catches him at his professional peak in the movies. Working alongside huggable neurotic Shirley MacLaine (also at her peak) and shady Fred MacMurray (working his slimeball role gently and persuasively), Lemmon creates a new kind of acting: screwball realism. **** from ****