The Apartment

"Baxter" (Jack Lemmon) has hit on an unique way to work his way up the greasy pole. He sublets his apartment, by the evening, to his bosses at work so they can entertain their lady friends - all in the hope that promotion from his $90-a-week job will result. This policy frequently ends up with him standing around in the cold whilst they polish off all his liquor. Promises, and more promises - will he every get that better job? His only bright spot in the day is the mysterious but jolly lift operator "Fran" (Shirley MacLaine) but it turns out that she is involved with another big-noise executive. It's this man "Sheldrake" (Fred MacMurray) who could really make a difference for "Baxter" but at what cost? He's undoubtedly a bit of a rake as he plays rather callously with the affections of the loved-up "Fran". Finally, she feels so very despondent and she takes drastic action that luckily...

It's a good movie, but Best Picture at the Oscars? Frankly… I really enjoyed this film, largely thanks to the lightness of its story, and the funny way in which the film plays with the situation in which the protagonist finds himself intertwined. The film was, in fact, the big winner of the Oscars in its year, with ten nominations and five statuettes (Best Editing, Best Art Direction in Black and White, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and, the icing on the cake, Best movie). However, if we observe that that year were also nominated for much more memorable films such as “Spartacus” or “Psycho”, it is questionable whether this film really deserved to be considered the best film of the year. The script is based on the difficulties experienced by a simple office worker of a large insurance company from the moment he begins to lend his own apartment to several superiors in the firm,...

Essential viewing once a year for soul maintenance

A tiypical Billy Wilder comedy. Fun and with great script and performance from Jack Lemmon. A must to see.