The Apartment (1960 Billy Wilder)

One of the 10 best films ever made. If you look up 'bittersweet' in the Film Dictionary, this is what you'll get.

Here are some other dates when I've watched this film.

27 December 1977.
30 December 1978.
29 December 1980. (The BBC were very reliable in those days.)
January 1992.
7 May 1992.
16 August 1993.
24 December 1994.
27 December 2003.
11 December 2004.
17 December 2006.
29 March 2009.
18 June 2010 (to get over the disappointment of the England Algeria game).
15 October 2011.
13 October 2012.

Some thoughts:

She says 'check your nose'. He checks it in the glass of Sheldrake's office, sees the secretary. It all drives the plot along.. Such as her face, when she sees Sheldrake at the Chinese. The direction serves the screenplay and so there's not a shot wasted.

"I'd like to get her on a slow elevator to China." It's written by Wilder and IAL Diamond and they won the Oscar for their perfect screenplay. Billy also won another two for directing and producing. Also Alexandre Trauner for the sets (Mark Cousins points out the giant office is a reference to The Crowd) and Daniel Mandell's editing. The British Academy were more generous to the stars, giving both Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine the award for Best Foreign Actor. Joseph Lashelle's photography is beautifully luminous, like Charles Lang's.



Great cast. Jack Kruschen was nominated also (Dr Dreyfuss: "Mind if I cool this off?"). And you have to love Fred MacMurray for two reasons. One, risking his safe Disney career for Wilder (for the second time, cf. Double Indemnity when he went against type to be the bad guy). Two, the scene where Lemmon accidentally squirts cold medicine at him and he doesn't break the moment.

Kirkeby: David Lewis.
Vanderhoff: Willard Waterman.
Eichelberger: David White.
Dobisch ("What's buddy boy ever done for us?"): Ray Walston.

Baxter's pissed date is Hope Holiday, Joyce Jameson the blonde who sounds like Marilyn, Joan Shawlee is Kirkeby's date. Edie Adams is Miss Olsen.

Everyone has unfolding papers.

The importance of the key. The perfection of the cracked mirror (my favourite shot in a Wilder). He was not a technical, tricksy director, but even he was pleased with this. Because it is a major plot moment, but also reflects his conflict:

In the Sight and Sound poll's Top 10 of Richard Ayoade, Coppola, Hazanavicius and Asghar Farhadi (A Separation). Naturally. one of Cameron Crowe's Top 10.

We don't know Baxter's first name. I realise Baxter is Hil, and that makes us laugh a lot!

For some reason, G. Nius Qued puts this together with A Clockwork Orange!

Interesting watching the the filming: great use of widescreen and deep focus means less need to cut.

Great music by Adolph Deutsch (Some like It Hot, The Maltese Falcon).