Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a minor clerk at Consolidated Insurance who rents out his apartment to bosses taking mistresses, hoping to climb the corporate ladder. Shirley MacLaine plays Fran Kubelik, an elevator operator who catches his eye. Fred MacMurray plays Jeff Sheldrake, the head of personnel, who runs the scheme and sleeps with Fran. Billy Wilder directs and co-writes the script with I. A. L. Diamond.
Trailer, via Amazon MGM Studios.
Baxter’s Setup
Baxter loans his Upper West Side apartment to four managers in rotation. He keeps a booking schedule and deals with the mess afterward. His neighbors think he is a playboy. The bosses reward him with glowing performance reviews submitted to Sheldrake.
When Sheldrake questions him, Baxter admits everything. Sheldrake offers him a promotion in exchange for the apartment, starting that night. He hands Baxter two tickets to The Music Man. Baxter invites Fran to join him.
She agrees, but she has dinner with a former fling named Sheldrake. Baxter is stood up at the theater while Sheldrake takes Fran to the apartment instead.
Fran’s Betrayal
During the company’s Christmas Eve party, Sheldrake’s secretary, Miss Olsen, tells Fran that her boss has slept with many female employees, including herself. Fran confronts Sheldrake at Baxter’s apartment. He says he loves her, gives her $100 as a Christmas present, and leaves for his family in White Plains.
Fran feels used. Baxter realizes she is the woman Sheldrake has been bringing to his apartment.
The Apartment’s Schedule
| Manager | Share of Apartment |
|---|---|
| Baxter | Owner |
| Four managers | Rotation |
| Sheldrake | Arranged by Baxter |
| Fran | Stood up by Baxter |
Why It Works
The Apartment works because Lemmon plays Baxter as a sad man, not a fool. MacLaine plays Fran as a wounded woman, not a victim. MacMurray plays Sheldrake as a smooth operator, not a monster. The film’s humor comes from watching a man scheme himself into ruin.
“Movie-wise, there has never been anything like it – laugh-wise, love-wise, or otherwise-wise!”
The tagline is honest about the film’s ambition.
Legacy
The Apartment became the 8th highest-grossing film of 1960. It earned ten Academy Award nominations and won five, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Lemmon and MacLaine both won Golden Globes for their performances. A 1968 Broadway musical, Promises, Promises, was based on the film.
In 1994, it was preserved in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry.
Our Call
The Apartment is a perfect film. It balances comedy and drama without losing either. It treats its characters with care even when it mocks them. It ends on a note of hope, not tragedy.
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