The Apartment

US (1960): Comedy/Drama

Widely regarded as a comedy in 1960, The Apartment seems more melancholy with each passing year. Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a go-getting office worker who loans his tiny apartment to his philandering superiors for their romantic trysts. He runs into trouble when he finds himself sharing a girlfriend (Shirley MacLaine) with his callous boss (Fred MacMurray).

Director/co-writer Billy Wilder claimed that the idea for The Apartment stemmed from a short scene in the 1945 romantic drama Brief Encounter in which the illicit lovers (Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson) arrange a rendezvous in a third person's apartment. Wilder was intrigued about what sort of person would willingly vacate his residence to allow virtual strangers a playing field for hanky panky. His answer to that question wound up winning 6 Academy Awards^®, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Cast also features Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, David Lewis, Hope Holiday, Joan Shawlee and Edie Adams. The Apartment was adapted by Neil Simon and Burt Bacharach into the 1969 Broadway musical Promises, Promises. (Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide)

As of 2008, The Apartment is the last Best Picture winner to be shot entirely in black-and-white. [Although primarily black-and-white, Schindler's List (1993) contained a few brief color segments.]

 Use this link to view the original theatrical trailer for The Apartment on TCM.com.

10 nominations, 5 Awards