The Apartment (1960) * * * *

 

Directed by: Billy Wilder

Starring:  Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Jack Kruschen, Edie Adams, Ray Walston, Hope Holiday, David Lewis, Naomi Stevens

C.C. Baxter (Lemmon) can't even enjoy his leisure time in his own apartment.  Nearly every night, his bosses at work ask (more like demand) he leave his place so they could carry own their extramarital affairs without having to splurge for a hotel room (which I'm sure they could afford).  They dangle carrots in front of him in the form of raises and promotions which will grant him use of the executive washroom.  Baxter, who is itching to move up from his anonymous desk situated amidst hundreds of other drones, agrees, mostly because he is afraid to say no.   In 2024, this would be harassment writ large.  In 1960, this is business as usual.   

Baxter's love life is uncomplicated.  He has no wife, children, or girlfriend.  He sits outside in the park while his bosses make whoopee.  Since it's fall turning into winter, it doesn't surprise anyone that he catches a cold.  His superiors say they will borrow the apartment for an hour, which predictably turns into two or three.   Soon, Baxter has to carry a separate calendar to keep the dates straight.   He finds he likes Fran Kubelik (MacLaine), a pretty elevator operator who, unbeknownst to Baxter or anyone, is having an affair with Baxter's direct boss Jeff Sheldrake (MacMurray).  MacMurray dangles his own promises to Fran to leave his wife, but as days turn into months and years, this is still yet to happen.  She like Baxter well enough to agree to a date with him, but when Jeff comes calling, she stands him up at the theater.

Fran and Baxter are two peas in a pod in more ways than one.  They both yearn for more and the person who holds the key to their futures is Jeff.   This changes when Jeff borrows the apartment to break things off with Fran and she attempts suicide with sleeping pills.  Baxter enlists his neighbor Dr. Dreyfuss (Kruschen) to pump her stomach and keep things quiet.  Dr. Dreyfuss, who wrongfully assumes it is Baxter who is bedding all of those women at all hours of the night, tells Baxter to be a "mensch" and settle down with one woman.  Baxter nurses Fran back to health, which is something he loves doing because the woman he loves is in his presence.  

Billy Wilder's The Apartment is a dark, satirical comedy with a cynical undertone.  Both Baxter and Fran desire love, but understand the hurdles they need to jump through to achieve it, and both wonder if it's even worth it.  Lemmon is among the most likable and dependable of actors.  We feel for Baxter and understand his motives to a degree, especially in a time when the word harassment was likely never uttered or even thought about.  MacLaine is a fetching woman who thinks Jeff is her future husband, but she may even believe that one day, she'll be the unfortunate, unsuspecting Mrs. Sheldrake and some other woman will be another Fran.  MacMurray, like in Wilder's Double Indemnity strays from typecasting as the all-around good chap, doesn't seem to mind stringing people along as it suits his needs.  MacMurray is good at appearing to be sympathetic to Fran's feelings, while failing to see he is the cause of them.  

What makes The Apartment such a classic romantic comedy (if you want to call it that) is that it isn't playing musical beds or even necessarily cheerful.  Its characters operate in a world of realism, where their jobs are more important than their emotions or even decency.  Yet, things turn out okay in the end, but even then Fran tempers Baxter's declarations of love with "shut up and deal".