Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine Commingle with Elan in Wilder’s Apartment

 

1960 proved a banner year in cinema, with big productions following a traditional style of moviemaking (i.e. Spartacus, From the Terrace, Swiss Family Robinson) vying for patronage with films indicating a shift of audience interest towards more mature subject matter, such as Elmer Gantry and Hitchcock’s shocking Psycho. Ideally combining aspects of both old and new cinematic styles, director/writer/producer Billy Wilder’s The Apartment manages to infuse its cynical tale featuring adultery, attempted suicide and naked ambition with elements of romance and high comedy, resulting in a deeply satisfying, moving and funny experience for viewers interested in an assessable-yet-unorthodox storyline. Wilder and his ace writing partner I.A.L. Diamond, hot off their triumph the previous year with the riotous smash hit Some Like it Hot, concocted an incisive original screenplay of wit, dramatic force and merit. Striking B&W camerawork by Joseph LaShelle, powerful score by Adolph Deutsch and an incredible cast of talented pros led by Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and an against-type Fred MacMurray allows Wilder to impressively maintain a sense of fluidity, humor and emotional depth while detailing a scenario unlike any other during the movie’s 125-minute run time.

As C.C. Baxter, the affable-yet-determined office worker looking to rise up the corporate ladder through hard work and a side hustle which entails colleagues with more status to use his title residence for their after-hours trysts, Jack Lemmon laid the blueprint for his soon-to-be superstar persona on screen as an extremely likeable everyman with whom viewers could identify with and believe, whether Lemmon was playing heroes in comedy or drama mode. Starting his film career as a leading man on a high note opposite Judy Holliday in 1954’s George Cukor-directed It Should Happen to You, Lemmon quickly rose in rank, winning his first Oscar for his impressive comedic skill in one of 1955’s biggest hits, Mister Roberts, then rising higher after his hilarious, inventive work in his initial Hot teaming with Wilder. Apartment would showcase how skillfully Lemmon could shift between pathos and comedy in a role, sometimes in the same scene. His leaning into more dramatic acting via his work as Baxter would allow Lemmon great success, with 1962’s Days of Wine and Roses finding the star pushing himself to heretofore untested dramatic depths, with several Oscar nominations and a second win for Save the Tiger bringing Lemmon recognition as one of the finest serious actors of his generation, in addition to his fame as a top comic on screen.  

Shirley MacLaine, whose screen career had been on a steady path upward since her impressive debut in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Trouble with Harry in 1955, found one of her signature roles as the forlorn elevator operator Fran Kubelik, who catches Baxter’s eye, then gets to know him better under very unusual circumstances. Discovered in ‘out of nowhere’ fashion on Broadway in The Pajama Game after going on for star Carol Haney, MacLaine’s quirky, impish screen persona allowed her to grab attention in a variety of roles, including 1956’s Oscar-winning smash Around the World in Eighty Days and her riveting Oscar-nominated work as goodtime gal Ginny in Some Came Running, wherein she managed to balance comic and dramatic aspects with skill, flair and great individuality, making her a perfect fit for the multidimensional, somewhat beatnik Fran. MacLaine handles her comic lines with deft precision, while also emoting Fran’s despondency with shattering force, specifically during a Christmas Eve sequence. She has a great, friendly chemistry with Lemmon, making one root for this touching, offbeat couple. MacLaine would reteam with Lemmon and Wilder for another big hit, Irma la Douce, and carry on with one of the most diverse and successful careers in show business as both actor and writer, gaining an Oscar in the process and a rich filmography unrivaled by most of her peers.

Fred MacMurray, just around the time he was becoming one of America’s favorite father figures via Disney hits such as The Shaggy Dog and the television debut of My Three Sons later in 1960, would offer one of his most laudable portrayals in the change-of-pace role of Jeff Sheldrake, Baxter’s seemingly easy-going but arrogant, egocentric boss. Starting his career as a saxophone player before making a strong impact in 1930’s and 1940’s romantic comedies alongside the likes of Carole Lombard, Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck and Katharine Hepburn among others, MacMurray would largely remain in light comedies for the next couple of decades, with Wilder allowing MacMurray his best chance to show a darker side in 1944’s Double Indemnity, one of the greatest noirs and 1954’s The Caine Mutiny also displaying MacMurray in less-than-noble mode. Wilder, wanting to utilize MacMurray again for an unsavory character, pulls no punches in illustrating all the unsympathetic aspects of the part, while his star does an ace job using his established genial film persona to underline what a dishonest, chauvinistic egoist Sheldrake is at heart. MacMurray would become increasingly iconic as an amiable figure in films and television during the rest of his career, with The Apartment remaining a great example of how dramatically stirring he could be when given the right opportunity.

Jack Kruschen scored a career breakthrough as Dr. Dreyfuss, Baxter’s neighbor who figures importantly in the plot mid-film. Kruschen brings a nice gravitas to the proceedings in these compelling scenes with the two stars, while also throwing out some sage, amusing observations with a calm resourcefulness that adds dimension to the role, illustrating the wisdom and morality the doctor possesses. The talented Edie Adams also figures importantly in the story as Miss Olsen, Sheldrake’s observant secretary and former lover, making a strong impact with scant screentime. Adams had established herself on stage (winning a Tony for Li’l Abner) and television, portraying a variety of characters and offering on-point impressions of Marilyn Monroe, among others, opposite husband and television pioneer Ernie Kovacs, before her impressive Apartment impact, wherein Adams first invests Miss Olsen with a comic sensibility (especially in a drunken encounter with Fran) then, in keeping with the dynamics of the film’s overall tone, shows the character’s switch to regret, bitterness and bravery as Miss Olsen is forced to re-assess her dealings with Sheldrake, both as employer and former flame.

Hope Holiday, after Broadway work and a film debut the previous year in Li’l Abner, gains perhaps her most notable role as Margie McDougall, the wry, lackadaisical Mrs. whom Baxter picks up at a bar, using her unique raspy voice and some off-kilter line readings to create a portrait of a zany original in only a couple of scenes. Ray Walston and David White (a few years before their greater fame on t.v. in My Favorite Martian and Bewitched), David Lewis and Willard Waterman all do distinct work as the four unscrupulous colleagues vying for individual time at Baxter’s busy pad. Joan Shawlee, a year after scoring as a brassy bandleader in Hot, stands out as a switchboard operator who trysts at the apartment to open the film, and Joyce Jameson impresses early in the film in a clear take-off on Marilyn Monroe (wearing a Monroe dress from Hot), with a breathy vocal delivery that does Marilyn proud.

Released in June 1960, The Apartment was received with abundant critical praise, although a few expecting a light comedy ala Hot were taken aback by the stark, dramatic adult themes involved in the film. Audiences fully embraced Wilder’s latest acerbic offering, leading to The Apartment ending up one of the top hits of the year, eventually gaining $9,300,000 in rentals (according to Variety). The memorable theme song also resonated, with an instrumental by Ferrante & Teicher hitting Billboard’s top ten. Come awards season, Apartment racked up plenty of hosannas, placing among the top ten films of the year on Time, The New York Times and the National Board of Review lists, with MacLaine winning Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and the film, Lemmon and MacLaine taking top honors at the British Academy Awards, a feat mirrored at the Golden Globes. Wilder was cited as Best Director at the New York Film Critics (in a tie with Jack Cardiff for Sons and Lovers, the film which also tied with The Apartment for Best Motion Picture) and won outright at the Director’s Guild of America, while Wilder and Diamond won screenplays awards from New York and the Writers Guild of America.

 The Academy Awards granted the movie ten nominations (including nods to Lemmon, MacLaine and Kruschen) and five wins, three for Wilder (Best Picture, Director and Original Screenplay), cementing its status as one of the most praised and profitable films of its era. Subsequent generations of filmgoers have continued to find great merit in The Apartment. A musical reworking of the material led to a 1968 Broadway hit, Promises, Promises, and the film has placed high on “All-Time” lists, entering the National Film Registry in 1994, then coming in at #93 on the AFI’s first list of Greatest Films, then moving up to #80 on the 10^th Anniversary list, and ranking as high as #14 on the esteemed Sight and Sound poll (during 2002). Over the six decades since its release, The Apartment, which also serves as an interesting choice for holiday viewing due to the story unfolding during the Christmastime to New Year’s Eve period, has lost none of its capacity to wow audiences with its adroit, persuasive blend of humor and conflict, well-earning its reputation as one of the prime entries in the screen endeavors of Wilder, his sterling cast and anyone else associated with this formidable classic.