The Apartment (1960)

Love this movie! I think it's interesting to pair it with Kurosawa's Ikiru, which is also about office life and the futility of it all.

Masterpiece.

[quote]Masterpiece.

And it's musical version is the source of "It's Turkey Lurkey Time."

I'm not sure I'd call it one of the greatest movies of all time, but it's a wonderful film that's quite frank, considering that it was released in 1960, with a fine musical score.

It’s my favorite Christmas movie

One of my all-time favorite movies. Fred MacMurray's best performance, IMO, superior to his work in "Double Indemnity."

[quote] And it's musical version is the source of "It's Turkey Lurkey Time."

That's a [italic]horrible[/italic] song. Even if you like the dancing, that song is just godawful.

Shirley MacLaine’s most appealing performance—she plays a real, likable, flawed human being—neither the crinkly gamine that was grating or the gorgon she calcified into after Terms of Endearment (her other great performance). Lemmon a mensch who goes astray and then recovers his moral center. And MacMurray willing to return to his heel side in Double Indemnity ;though never again).

And yes, a marvelous score.

Fantastic movie. Great performances all around.

Don't give up on a movie a mere 15 minutes into. Often times it takes that long to establish the set-up, especially in older movie.

I was surprised at how simple and straightforward the plot is. It's written and edited beautifully in that way. Also: I agree with R8.

A great, great movie. I sigh just thinking of it.

I have a woke colleague who hates this movie and is offended by the “sexual politics” of it. And he is a straight man.

To preface this, I'd seen it before and already considered it a classic. But when I rewatched it during the worst year of my life, the ending made me cry in a happy-sad way that few films have ever managed.

Is that Edward L Quartermaine from GH? Composer John Williams of Star Wars fame is the piano player in one of the bar scenes. I loved the first 15 minutes.

I have felt like Shirley McLaine's character the few times I've been with couples in open relationships.

[quote]Is that Edward L Quartermaine from GH?

Yes, David Lewis is in this movie.

And My Favorite Martian in a small role being all butch

[quote]And it's musical version is the source of "It's Turkey Lurkey Time."

Oh, dearing myself.

It is a downer, imo. I do love the scene where Jack Lemmon gets drunk and picks up an equally depressed floozy.

The ending was nice. Now I'm watching "Marty" with Ernest Borgnine. So far I think Marty is closeted.

I love Marty, what an amazing film.

OP's Thread Template:

1. Pick something, let's say a movie.

2. Look it up on Wikipedia.

3. Don't swallow or digest the information. Just spit it out immediately in a thread.

4. Ask inane questions disconnected from any experience of the movie, because of course you haven't watched it.

5. Hover to see how many responses you have. Slip in to try to control things, when frustrated.

Try "A Face in the Crowd" starring Andy Griffith as Lonesome Rhodes.

But you'll probably need to spend more than 15 minutes watching it OP

I'm outta here.

R13 David Lewis is very good in The Apartment. TV wife Anna Lee appeared in two Academy Award winning best pictures. Edward was never the same on GH after he retired.

Here's some trivia: 4 of Billy Wilder's movies became stage musicals:

Ninotchka - Silk Stockings Sunset Boulevard - Sunset Boulevard Some Like It Hot - Sugar! (and there's a new musical coming up) The Apartment - Promises, Promises

There is no exclamation point after Sugar. There's nothing there. Like in the musical itself which was a bore despite the talents involved. Unlike Promises which was deservedly a big hit.

[quote] the ending made me cry in a happy-sad way that few films have ever managed.

MARY!!!!

I’m sorry, I don’t make the DL rules, I just follow them.

Ok, I’m in the minority here. Hated the movie.

Granted, I was expecting a ‘comedy’ in the truest sense, and I’m a huge Jack Lemmon fan, so that may have had something to do with it. Maybe one day I’ll try it again, especially since it wasn’t particularly memorable.

You don't appreciate MacMurray until you see him in one of his dramatic roles. Not only this and Double Indemnity but Sirk's wonderful There's Alway's Tomorrow.

Or The Caine Mutiny.

Yes! I had forgotten about that one.

I watched it recently and recognized a young Mr. Hand from Fast Times at Ridgemont High

I really liked Jack Lemmon. It doesn't seem as if he ever really got his due.

R33. Lemmon won two Oscars and was nominated for five others—what more do you want?

R32 has never heard of Damn Yankees, South Pacific or My Favorite Martian.

Lemmon was nominated for an Oscar eight times, winning twice, and he remained in demand and highly respected throughout his life. Hardly my idea of an underappreciated actor.

[quote] Hated the movie.

I partly agree. It's more of a Black and white TV show than a movie.

Wilder's talent diminished in the 60s. The characters are small, nondescript peons.

My mom had the sheet music for the theme and I remember her playing it on the piano in the living room sometimes if I stayed in bed late and she thought nobody was listening. It was years until I finally saw the movie.

This movie has an unhappy ending, doesn't it?

[quote]This movie has an unhappy ending, doesn't it?

Spoiler alert: no.

[quote] Jack Lemon's character

Oh, dear.

Go...

It has an unhappy end for Fred MacMurray. Though I think after he'll just find somebody else at the company.

A black and white TV show? Well I strongly disagree with that. I found I liked Kiss Me Stupid more than I expected to. But after that it's pretty much as if Wilder's talent completely evaporated. It happened to George Cukor as well during this time period.

[quote]It has an unhappy end for Fred MacMurray. Though I think after he'll just find somebody else at the company.

How unusual for a movie's bad guy to have an unhappy ending.

R11 is probably looking for a chance to grandstand against "woke" people

He probably watches Kirk Cameron movies because they're not "woke"

Does anyone want me to do my Jack Lemmon impression?

No.

I find the movie fascinating if only for its setting in the corporate misogynistic world of 1960 Manhattan. I mean, elevator operators dressed like stewardesses? So much changed just 7 or 8 years later. And Jack Lemmon's apartment would now rent for more than $5000/month.

[quote] Jack Lemmon's apartment would now rent for more than $5000/month.

I remember in the first few minutes of the move he says how much his rent is but I can’t remember the amount. All of these years since i saw it I’ve been trying to remember the amount.

Anybody know?

Not offhand, r49, but on MTM today they mentioned Mary paid $125.00 and Rhoda's rent was $87.50.

On a related note, Any Wednesday has a cheating married CEO. Jason Robards, Jane Fonda, Dean Jones as the triangle and Rosemary Murphy as the wronged-but-ultimately-triumphant wife.

I don't get the fan worship for Alexander Trauner.

He was obviously a buddy to fellow Hungarian Wilder. He did some big sets for the magical 'Children of Paradise' in the 40s.

But he got an Oscar for this unremarkable decor in this small New York tale about small New York schmucks in 'The Apartment'.

No love for Edie Adams as the bitchy private secretary?

[quote]and Rosemary Murphy as the wronged-but-ultimately-triumph - ant wife.

Was the ant wife married to Ant Man?

I like it. I despise Some Like It Hot. I don’t know why it gets the praise it does. Men running around dressed like women went out with Uncle Miltie.

Trauner used children and paper dummies in this scene with "Forced perspectives'

It's funny how Mac Murray post-Apartment is known for being the ultimate nice guy in My Three Sons and those Disney flicks, but is so rotten In Double Indemnity, The Caine Mutiny and The Apartment. A good actor.

I like this picture of Alexander Trauner's set for Wilder's film 'Irma la douce'.

So it was filmed on genuine locations in Paris but used two American schmucks attempting to play Parisians.

I love Edie Adams R53 ........

Plus eliminating the score and all of the dancing Elizabeth Seal did. r58.

Yes, R60, the movie 'Irma la douce' looks great in color but the two American schmucks are utterly charmless and unfortunately Charlie Laughton died and robbed the film of his presence..

[quote]I despise Some Like It Hot. I don’t know why it gets the praise it does.

I guess it's because you're right and the millions who have loved it are wrong.

You're allowed to dislike it. And others are allowed to disagree with you.

[quote]I love Edie Adams

So does Muriel, r59.

[quote] I despise Some Like It Hot

I like it but I wish it was in color.

It's a bit overlong but I realise Wilder had to lengthen it to justify giving top billing to that annoying diva in her supporting role.

Marilyn Monroe said she would have loved to have played Fran Kubelik in "The Apartment." But she would have been totally wrong for the role. First, she was too sexy. The role was NOT one meant for a sex symbol. An elevator operator that looked like THAT? And who would believe that the lecherous boss played by Fred MacMurray would have strung the platinum haired, big breasted, full lipped Monroe along, playing with her, unwilling to make a commitment? He would have dropped his wife flat for such a trophy.

[quote] The address given for Baxter’s one-bedroom apartment is 51 West 67th Street, #2A. However, Wilder shot the brownstone’s exteriors at 55 West 69th Street, between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West, in the wet, chilly winter of 1959 before decamping with his crew to film interiors on sound stages at The Lot, 1041 North Formosa Avenue, in West Hollywood. (Lemmon had caught a cold shooting a night scene in Central Park, and his sniffles and stuffed nose were incorporated into the plot.)

[quote] Built in 1910, the four-story brownstone on the north side of 69th Street has lost its elegant sweeping stoop, but the facade otherwise looks much as it did in 1959. There are 10 units there now. [bold] Baxter rented his apartment for $85 a month [/bold]

[quote] Monroe said she would have loved to have played Fran Kubelik in "The Apartment."

That statement demonstrates her foolishness.

Wilder wanted a small female who would end up with a small male schmuck.

A perfect film. Captures the period so well. It always has been one of my favorites.

Fine...I'll post it...

I'd love to see documentation of Monroe talking about The Apartment.

Was there any source material for The Apartment or was it wholly a product of Wilder and Diamond's minds?

[quote] source material

Wilder says it arose out of a brief unpleasant exchange preceding the climax of this classic film.

R71, R72

As you know 'Brief Encounter' is all about polite middle-class people. There's a ghastly scene when Trevor Howard's flatmate berates him for using the apartment as a setting for sordid illicit sex.

Trevor apologises "I'm sure that the whole situation must seem inexplicably vulgar to you" while Celia is driven to the point of madness.

I hate Jack Lemon - ruins every movie for me,

R74 Are you the OP?

(But I do happen to agree with you about 'Lemon')

[quote]I hate Jack Lemon - ruins every movie for me,

You sound like a sourpuss.

[quote] Jack Lemon

I have little interest in Lemon and/or MacLaine but I remember her anecdote about stealing a lemon and some sugar in a cafeteria queue and making her own 'lemonade'.

I started disliking Lemon with The Out of Towners. His presence is the worst thing about NY in that movie.

Irma La Douce is awful and Wilder's last hit. Laughton might have made it worthwhile. His death was a great loss for Wilder as both an actor and close friend.

[quote]I started disliking Lemon with The Out of Towners. His presence is the worst thing about NY in that movie.

I watched "The Out of Towners" a couple of years ago and couldn't believe how bad it is. Lemmon's character is completely unlikable throughout, which is never a good idea for a main character in a movie, especially a comedy. But he's not the only problem. The sadistic premise of so many bad things happening to one couple, one after the other, is like torture to sit through. And none of it is very funny. Awful film.

[quote] I watched "The Out of Towners" a couple of years ago and couldn't believe how bad it is. Lemmon's character is completely unlikable throughout,

The same could be said for his really sick, tasteless one called 'How to Murder Your Wife' from the early 60s.

Comedies about murder need to be handled with wit.

[quote] The same could be said for his really sick, tasteless one called 'How to Murder Your Wife' from the early 60s.

I thought that movie was hilarious. Of its time, but hilarious.

[quote] Of its time

Did you see this slapstick movie in 1965? A reviewer from 18 years warned—

[quote] The movie contains unbelievably sexist lines and attitudes, and it's impossible to imagine anyone in this day and age watching the film without being horribly offended.

The witty 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' was 75 years ago and the moderately tasteful The Ladykillers was 67 years ago.

[quote]I watched "The Out of Towners" a couple of years ago and couldn't believe how bad it is. Lemmon's character is completely unlikable throughout, which is never a good idea for a main character in a movie, especially a comedy. But he's not the only problem. The sadistic premise of so many bad things happening to one couple, one after the other, is like torture to sit through. And none of it is very funny. Awful film.

The Prisoner of Second Avenue is the same schtick drilled down to one Manhattan apartment, instead of Manhattan.

[quote] same schtick

Aggravation Comedy isn't funny.

It's as lame as Embarrassment Comedy and Embarrassment Nudity.

It seemed to catch the zeitgeist, and it was a big hit.

It was.

[quote] zeitgeist [quote] schmuck [quote] schtick

I'm beginning to think that 'Aggravation Comedy' was a cultural speciality for Neil Simon, late-career Billy Wilder and their co-religionists who demand social conformity.

Prisoner of Second Avenue was a sold out hit on Broadway with Peter Falk and Lee Grant. I'm not sure how it fared as a movie. I've never seen it. A Neil Simon aggravation comedy with Jack Lemmon raging at everything can only be endured once.

[quote] The movie contains unbelievably sexist lines and attitudes, and it's impossible to imagine anyone in this day and age watching the film without being horribly offended.

Oh for crap's sake. This reviewer has a bug up his or her ass.

R90 Gay men are used to role-play and putting themselves into the mind of historical characters.

That reviewer was writing in 2004. Ours society has become nuttier in recent years.

The movie version of "Prisoner of Second Avenue" wasn't a hit. Neil Simon later said he had wanted Peter Falk to reprise his stage role, but the studio insisted on Lemmon. Simon said the role needed someone more "ethnic and urban" and that he found Lemmon hard to believe as a native New Yorker. He also said he considered the married couple in the play to be the couple from "Barefoot in the Park" at a later stage of their marriage when the city had become "more impersonal and dangerous, and people were more alienated and fearful."

[quote] "Barefoot in the Park"

This show was a pure example of Aggravation Comedy.

I only saw the film version but the wife was an unrealistically stupid woman forcing her aggravated husband into stupid situations.

Aggravation Comedy only works if the players are appealing and personable, or if the play contains verbal wit.

Now one has mentioned Larry Tate as one of the office hounds! This is before he switched from insurance to advertising.

Irma la Do use has an animated opening. I have noticed this trend seems to have begun in the early 60's and continued into the 70's. Does anyone know they origin of this trend?

[quote] Does anyone know they origin of this trend?

Theory 1: Because "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin’" was a BIG best seller and a cheap form of publicity for 'High Noon' in 1952. This inspired lots of imitations with songs that didn't fit the film's mood so the credit sequence had to be extended.

Theory 2: Because of the Saul Bass' white on black paper cut-out arm of a heroin addict for 'The Man with the Golden Arm' caused a sensation in 1955.

The Out-of-Towners started life as a fourth one-act play in Plaza Suite (the play). It was cut, and then Simon turned it into the screenplay.

That certainly explains why that movie feels like a very thin premise stretched out to the point of being an ordeal to sit through, R97.