The Apartment (1960)
95%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: Won 5 Oscars
24 wins & 8 nominations total
Director Billy Wilder’s customary cynicism is leavened here by tender humor, romance, and genuine pathos.
The Apartment is a classic film that will have you laughing, crying, and questioning your own moral compass. With a cast of talented actors and witty dialogue, this movie is a must-see for anyone who loves a good romantic comedy with a touch of drama. Billy Wilder’s direction is spot-on, and the 4K restoration makes the film look better than ever. So grab some popcorn, settle in, and get ready for a wild ride through the world of corporate America and the complicated relationships that come with it.
Production Company(ies)
The Mirisch Corporation,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Majestic Theater, 247 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
Year of Release
1960
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 15, 1960 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 4, 2008
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $18,778,738
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $213,651,546
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 660
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 23,298,969
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $3,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $34,131,934
Production budget ranking: 1,078
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $18,380,046
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $161,139,567
ROI to date (est.): 307%
ROI ranking: 454
– Jack Lemmon as C.C. Baxter
– Shirley MacLaine as Fran Kubelik
– Fred MacMurray as Jeff D. Sheldrake
– Ray Walston as Joe Dobisch
– David Lewis as Al Kirkeby
– Jack Kruschen as Dr. Dreyfuss
– Directed by Billy Wilder
– Produced by Billy Wilder
– Written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond
Director(s)
Billy Wilder
Writer(s)
Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond
Producer(s)
Billy Wilder
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 5 Oscars
24 wins & 8 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (102) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (96) | Rotten (6)
Though lighter than Arrows 2018 release on the extras front, Kinos 4K of The Apartment provides the definitive home-video presentation of one of Billy Wilders greatest films.
April 18, 2022
Jake Cole
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
This is a polished production, naughty, ironic, occasionally poignantly sad, and as sparkling as a Fourth of July fireworks display.
March 16, 2022
Marjory Adams
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
[Jack Lemmon] is a genuine actor, not in the same universe with most of his film contemporaries, who are mere behavers. This picture is not good enough for him. Still, his performance makes it worth a visit.
March 16, 2022
Stanley Kauffmann
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
Director Wilder has come up with another real winner in The Apartment… It is a film with plenty of fun and one that promises hope in a society whose moral standards seems to be rapidly deteriorating
March 16, 2022
Ben Kubasik
Newsday
TOP CRITIC
The dialogue is brilliant with smart alec sparkle and the situations are as adult as one can get by with on the screen, and the performances by all concerned… are gems of alternating humor and pathos.
March 16, 2022
George Bourke
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
Anybody complaining that modern Hollywood comedy doesn’t have the old human touch, the heart once supplied by directors like Frank Capra and Gregory LaCava, ought to see this. It is one of the best films of the year.
March 16, 2022
Myles Standish
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
In 1960, Billy Wilder won Best Picture with a film—whose basic plot swirls around the trials and tribulations of infidelity of both sexes—seemed like a shock to some, but for many more was the ideal precursor to the Swinging ‘60s and free love.
May 8, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
James Wegg
JWR
The wry and perspicacious Wilder and the more sentimental Diamond fashioned a tale of sexual office politics as microcosm for an externally well-oiled and puritanical America that, internally, was ethically and morally bankrupt.
April 5, 2022 | Rating: A+
Frank J. Avella
Edge Media Network
A screen gem that attained classic status in about as much time as it takes to comb one’s hair.
April 2, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
The picture is brimming with crisp, quick one-liners and sharp dialogue – all setting up the next moment of banter. Each conversation or character interaction is an exploration of motivation and rich emotion.
March 24, 2022 | Rating: 10/10
Josiah Teal
Film Threat
Mr. Wilder, possessor of Hollywood’s sharpest eye for the witheringly ironic comment on human behavior, is richly blessed with the opportunity to use it in The Apartment.
March 16, 2022
Jay Carmody
Washington Star
With The Apartment, Wilder outdid himself. Not only is it much better than his previous comedy, but this has several serious and poignant moments that stir one… and, for these moments you can thank Fred MacMurray, Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.
March 16, 2022
Hortense Morton (Screen Scout)
San Francisco Examiner…
Plot
As of November 1, 1959, mild mannered C.C. Baxter has been working at Consolidated Life, an insurance company, for close to four years, and is one of close to thirty-two thousand employees located in their Manhattan head office. To distinguish himself from all the other lowly cogs in the company in the hopes of moving up the corporate ladder, he often works late, but only because he can’t get into his apartment, located off of Central Park West, since he has provided it to a handful of company executives – Mssrs. Dobisch, Kirkeby, Vanderhoff and Eichelberger – on a rotating basis for their extramarital liaisons in return for a good word to the personnel director, Jeff D. Sheldrake. When Baxter is called into Sheldrake’s office for the first time, he learns that it isn’t just to be promoted as he expects, but also to add married Sheldrake to the list to who he will lend his apartment. Dobisch, Kirkeby, Vanderhoff and Eichelberger are now feeling neglected as Baxter no longer needs their assistance in moving up.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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