Billy Wilder’s beloved romcom, with Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine finding love amid corporate New York’s sea of sexual deception.
Following the popular and critical success of his gender-bending farce Some Like It Hot (1959), Wilder reteamed with screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond for this darker comedy set in the world of nine-to-five corporate New York. Jack Lemmon was again on hand, this time as lonely office bottom-runger C.C. Baxter, who goes after promotion by allowing his seniors the use of his apartment for their extramarital liaisons. Meanwhile, he hopes to catch the eye of the sassy elevator girl, Fran Kubelik (Shirley Maclaine).
Deliriously funny, The Apartment is also shot through with Wilder’s customary wit and cynicism, creating a bleak vision of estrangement in the modern working city. Celebrated art director Alexander Trauner designed the cavernous open-plan office. The film won five Academy Awards, including best picture and best director.
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We are very grateful to have received support for “Nobody’s perfect!” from the BFI Film Audience Network, awarding funds from the National Lottery in order to bring this project to more audiences across the UK. They, in turn, would be very grateful for your feedback on the screening/s you attended as part of the season – thank you very much if you could spare 5 minutes for this short Audience Survey https://online1.snapsurveys.com/ymhad6?A=HUB&P=SE78
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine & Fred MacMurray
Year: 1960
Language: In English
Country: USA
Running time: 2hrs 5mins