Best Picture: #33
Original Release Date: June 15, 1960
Rating: Approved
Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes
Director: Billy Wilder
Quick Impressions:
Late last Thursday night, I wrote half a review of The Devil All the Time, a film I liked more than I expected. My tone was glib, kind of playful, and then Friday morning my mother had a heart attack and died instantly, and I just couldn’t finish the review with any kind of tonal consistency. Maybe one day I’ll post a completed review of The Devil All the Time. I think the main things to remember are Tom Holland gives a great performance, Robert Pattinson gets dangerously close to taking his character’s strangeness too far (think Johnny Depp’s Willie Wonka), and Harry Melling dumps spiders all over his face.
And now for The Apartment. Thanks to my childhood obsession with Marilyn Monroe, I’ve been a fan of director Billy Wilder for a long time. I love both The Seven Year Itch and Some Like It Hot. I’m also a huge fan of Witness for the Prosecution (a film my mother loved) and now The Lost Weekend. (I just finished reading the novel.)
For some reason–well, I think the pretty obvious reason was that Shirley MacLaine was another one of the many actresses my grandma couldn’t stand–I had never seen The Apartment before. (Grandma had it in for Marilyn Monroe, too, but I had stronger feelings there.) I know The Apartment always makes prestigious lists of best comedies, and I love Wilder and Jack Lemmon, but I had never gotten around to watching the film. In fact, I didn’t even know the premise.
My daughter and I started watching this pretty late Monday night. We planned to watch only twenty minutes, but then the film became so surprisingly compelling that we watched all but twenty minutes. I love this movie. I think my grandma was wrong about Shirley MacLaine. (Well, maybe not. I don’t think Grandma’s dislike had anything to do with her acting skills. But I like her.) This is a touching story with a sharp script and great performances by the two leads, plus a very nice somewhat villainous supporting turn by the usually sympathetic Fred MacMurray. After it ended, my daughter said immediately, “Okay, that’s in my Top Ten.” It is for me, too!
(I haven’t actually been ranking all the Best Pictures like she has, but when I attempted it last night, I realized that our numbering had gotten off somewhere recently. This is the thirty-third winner, which means Ben-Hur was actually 32, not 31.)
The Plot:
C.C. Baxter is a whizz with statistics, but the executives he works for at the insurance agency are far more interested in figures than facts. As Baxter quickly discovers, the key to getting ahead in New York in 1960 is the key to his apartment where his superiors love to entertain their mistresses. So what if Baxter has nowhere else to go for shelter while the executives have their trysts in his home? He’s on the fast track for a private office! His accommodating efforts eventually pay off, and he gets the big promotion he’s been angling for. There’s one problem, though. Baxter’s boss accidentally leaves something behind in his bed–a woman, Fran Kubelik, the elevator operator of Baxter’s dreams. And the quality of Fran’s life has been rapidly going down.
The Good:
I love Jack Lemmon. He’s so funny. And, like the best comedians, he knows how to tease the pathos out of a situation without losing the humor. But, actually, I think Shirley MacLaine’s performance is what makes The Apartment work so well. They’re both great in their respective roles. Also winning (I meant in the sense of being charming, but it did literally win the Oscar) is the screenplay by I.A.L. Diamond and Billy Wilder. I love the deadpan one-liners, witty remarks, callback humor, bits of whimsy. And of course, as always, Billy Wilder loves to make little inside jokes alluding to his other work (a girl who looks like Marilyn Monroe, the phrase “lost weekend” tossed off as a joke). Wilder and Diamond also wrote Some Like It Hot together, and a number of the lines MacLaine’s character says remind me of dialogue uttered by Monroe’s similarly “blue” Sugar Kane. (I’ve read that Monroe wanted to play the part of Fran. It’s very easy to imagine her in it.)
As written, C.C. Baxter could easily come across as a bit creepy or grating. I mean, he takes kissing up to the boss for a promotion to a new level, and he’s essentially stalking Miss Kubelik. He’s doing it in a “cute” way, but, you know, stalking isn’t actually cute. And sucking up to people by enabling immoral actions you personally find a bit revolting isn’t cute either. The character basically works because Lemmon brings such warmth and goodness to him, a desperate, unhappy sincerity we see shining in his eyes.
Shirley MacLaine is magnificent because she manages to be hysterically funny by playing someone who is not actually going for a laugh most of the time. Her character is a buoyant spirit-lifter in her role as an elevator operator, but when she’s on her own time, Fran Kubelik is usually intensely depressed. (Her usual mood actually reminds me a bit of my grandma to be honest.) For me, it was strange to see MacLaine so young here (and in Around the World in 80 Days) since I always associate her with Steel Magnolias, Postcards From the Edge, and being gently mocked in pop culture for always talking about her past lives. Obviously I know she starred in a lot of big movies when she was young, and, like everyone, I know she’s Warren Beatty’s sister, but I just haven’t seen much of her very early work. She’s excellent here. Both she and Lemmon were nominated for acting. Too bad they didn’t win. (They did win at the Golden Globes for comedy.)
Also nominated (for Supporting Actor) was Jack Kruschen. I love him as Baxter’s next-door-neighbor Dr. Dreyfuss. For whatever reason, I became deeply invested in the idea of Dr. Dreyfus and his wife eventually learning the truth about Baxter’s situation and behavior.
“I know he doesn’t care what they think,” I said to my daughter, “but I care.” She answered, “But I think the way he handles that shows his maturity and his character.” She was quite impressed with the way Baxter handled the whole situation. After briefly alarming her by eagerly reciting to Miss Kubelik a number of personal facts about herself, Baxter went on to impress my daughter increasingly with his subsequent behavior. Since starting this project, we’ve noticed a huge trend. My daughter is often incredibly put off by the behavior of the male leads, but she liked and respected C.C. Baxter.
I was also really impressed with Fred MacMurray, surprised to see him play against type, and even more surprised that my daughter had never heard of him and didn’t know his usual type or any of his extremely famous roles. (We will never run out of stuff to watch together!) What’s kind of great is that MacMurray plays Jeff Sheldrake in just the same way that he plays his other characters, with the same sort of manner. That’s because as far as Sheldrake himself is concerned, he’s a completely upstanding man, a good guy. He’s not, but he thinks he is, so he acts just like one. (Plus how many characters of the era that we assumed were upstanding family men were really just like Sheldrake, but censored for the viewing public?) MacMurray’s performance is actually one of my favorite.
Best Scene Visually:
Near the end of the movie at a New Year’s Eve party, MacLaine has the most hilarious expression on her face that I’ve ever seen. I also like the visual link between the solitary spaghetti noodle and the endless spaghetti-like confetti in the next scene.
Good, too, is the stark visual contrast between the vast, soul-draining, impersonal insurance floor, and the small, showcased private office (with a window positioned more to inspire envy than to facilitate looking out).
Best Action Sequence:
The movie’s most gripping sequence begins when Dr. Dreyfuss makes a house call.
Funniest Sequence:
My daughter found Hope Holiday’s Mrs. MacDougal such a scream. She and Lemmon play their few scenes together beautifully.
Best Scene:
Lemmon and MacLaine have wonderful chemistry. All of their scenes together are a joy to watch. In general, their scenes apart are even more fun because each of them is so miserable when not with the other.
But for me, the most powerful moment in the film is the final exchange about the key between Lemmon and MacMurray. Also good, though, is Lemmon’s anecdote about his crush on a friend’s wife. He communicates so much through his eyes. And this sets up a brief moment of tension in the end. (I was interested to learn that The Apartment is the last completely black-and-white Best Picture winner until The Artist (2011), uncanny when the two film’s end in such a similar way.
The Negatives:
For a comedy made sixty years ago, The Apartment holds up surprisingly well. Sometimes comedy isn’t funny outside of its period of origin. But somehow, all of the topical jokes and references thrown in to tie this movie to 1960 (and there are A LOT) make it even funnier. It almost seems like it was made afterwards, a nostalgia-driven product like Stranger Things. (I mean, there are so many topical, period specific references. How often does a lonely single woman want to drift up to you in a bar to complain about Fidel Castro?)
For me, the greatest let down of the film is that Dr. Dreyfuss and his wife never discover the truth about what is going on with Baxter. Now I fully understand that he is happy with the misunderstanding (both as a noble gesture and for wish fulfillment/fantasy gratification). But I do think it’s a bit of a let down for the audience to watch such extensive build up of a misunderstanding and then never get the payoff of the people realizing they have been mistaken. It’s like watching just half an episode of Three’s Company.
Of course, the doctor’s advice to Baxter is still good. No, he hasn’t been the one using the apartment, but the way he’s been loaning out his home is also a problem. Obsessively doing anything to climb the corporate ladder no matter who gets hurt is a serious issue, too. A lot of people make the mistake of putting career first, undervaluing home life. Baxter values career advancement so much, he literally gives up his physical home. He does deserve a good talking to about priorities.
Overall:
The Apartment is extremely compelling, quite funny, but really exceptional because of its moments that explore tragedy and human connection. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine make a perfect pair, deftly balancing comedy and tragedy. Fred MacMurray and Jack Kruschen are great in supporting roles, too. Both my daughter and I immediately made room for this movie in our respective Best Picture Top 10 lists. You should watch it.