The Apartment is a 1960 romantic comedy directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray. Wilder's follow up to the enormously popular Some Like it Hot was an equal commercial and critical hit, grossing $25 million dollars at the box office, and winning the Best Picture Oscar at the Academy Awards.

Plot

Lemmon plays C.C Baxter, a lonely clerk, who (in hope of corporate advancement) loans out his apartment to executives for their extra-marital affairs, which includes his colleagues and his boss Mr. Sheldrake (MacMurray). The business transaction becomes complicated when he falls for Ms. Kubelik (MacLaine), an elevator operator - who turns out to be his boss's mistress. The consequences can be tragic or hilarious; the film often treads the thin line between the two.

Awards

The Apartment was nominated for ten Academy Awards and took home five. Billy Wilder won three, including his first for Best Picture, second for Best Director, and third for Best Screenplay. Although Jack Lemmon didn't win, Kevin Spacey dedicated his Oscar for American Beauty to Jack's performance.

1. Best Picture — Billy Wilder
2. Director — Billy Wilder
3. Art Direction — Edward G. Boyle , and Alexandre Trauner
4. Editing — Daniel Mandell
5. Original Screenplay — Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond.

It was also nominated for:

1. Best Actor — Jack Lemmon
2. Best Actress — Shirley MacLaine
3. Supporting Actor — Jack Kruschen
4. Cinematography — Joseph LaShelle
5. Sound — Gordon Sawyer

Both Lemmon and MacLaine won a BAFTA and Golden Globe each for their performances. The film appears on the influential American Film Institute list of Top 100 Films, as well as on their list of 100 Laughs and 100 Passions. The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.