“BEFORE #METOO THERE WAS…THE APARTMENT”

By Raymond Benson

One wonders if Billy Wilder’s magnificent comedy-drama, The Apartment, could be made today in the age of #MeToo. Probably not, despite its brilliant script, exceptional cast and performances, perfect direction, and its positive message against sexual harassment in the workplace.

Even so, in some circles The Apartment was considered controversial upon its release in 1960. Hollis Alpert in the Saturday Review called it a “dirty fairy tale.” Then again, The Apartment was coming off the heels of the hugely successful and popular Some Like it Hot, which the more-Puritan side of America may have called illicit and tawdry, too. Or perhaps co-writer and director Wilder was simply good at telling grown-up tales for adults within the context of a rapidly-maturing culture that was on the verge of a decade known for its freedom of expression. The 1960s was an explosion in breaking taboos—in all the arts, as well as in politics, civil rights, and sexual mores. It was the decade of revolution, protest, and the Pill.

Matthew Weiner was most assuredly influenced by The Apartment to create his groundbreaking television series, Mad Men, which also spotlighted sexual harassment in corporate America in the 1960s. The executives of Mad Men’s Manhattan advertising firm often behaved like their counterparts in the New York insurance company that is at the center of The Apartment. To think that Wilder did it first, and at the beginning of the actual decade in question, is a kind of eerie premonition.

In the film, written by Wilder and his relatively new (since 1957) scribe partner, I.A.L. Diamond, several executives at the firm take advantage of schlemiel C. C. “Bud” Baxter (a career-defining performance for Jack Lemmon) by borrowing the underling’s Upper West Side apartment for extramarital affairs, often with women from the office. Baxter hopes for a promotion out of the deal. One of the bosses, Jeff Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray, playing against type once again for Wilder) wants the apartment for a liaison with Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine, in a career-making performance), who is a lowly elevator operator at the firm. The problem is that Bud is sweet on Fran himself.

It’s a screwball comedy, a love story, a treatise on gender politics, and a cynical take on American morality, all done with Billy Wilder’s singular flare for caustic wit and irony. Oscar voters thought it was special, too, for the picture walked away with the statues for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, as well as Art/Set Direction (black and white) and Editing. Lemmon and MacLaine were nominated in the leading acting categories, as was Jack Kruschen (who plays an initially bewildered—and then helpful—neighbor) for Supporting Actor.

Arrow’s Blu-ray release is a marvel. The brand new 4K restoration looks astonishingly sharp and crystal clear, an absolute perfect representation of the film. It comes with an uncompressed PCM mono soundtrack, with an optional 5.1 remix in lossless DTS-HD Master Audio. There’s an audio commentary by film producer and historian Bruce Block.

Unlike previous home video releases, this Arrow release contains loads of supplements. The Key to the Apartment is a wonderful and concise introduction to the movie by film historian Philip Kemp, who also provides selected scene commentary throughout the picture. The Flawed Couple is a new video piece by filmmaker David Cairns on the unique collaboration between Wilder and Lemmon. Hope Holiday, who plays one of Bud’s bar pickups, is featured in a short interview with anecdotes about the making of the movie. Of interest to budding screenwriters is an archival interview with Wilder for the WGA Oral Histories program on how he writes a script. Also included are previously-released documentaries from 2007, Inside the Apartment, a making-of featurette, and Magic Time: The Art of Jack Lemmon—but now presented in high definition. A reverse sleeve on the jewel case presents the original artwork for the film poster and newly commissioned artwork by Ignatius Fitzpatrick.

Arrow Academy is rapidly becoming one of the great classic film restorers on Blu-ray. The Apartment is a testament to its quality-control. Billy Wilder’s masterpiece (one of several!) is also a work of genius that, considering today’s sexual politics, still stands the test of time.

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