THE APARTMENT 1960, 125 minutes

Vienna-born director Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Some Like It Hot), was known for nothing if not his sardonic style, and this film is considered one of his sharpest. Set in a huge Manhattan insurance company, Jack Lemmon plays a humble office schlub who pines for Shirley MacLaine’s elevator operator. But Lemmon is at the mercy of his bosses, who sing his praises so long as they can use his apartment for their affairs. Enter head boss Fred MacMurray, who finds out about the arrangement––only to use it for his own affair with MacLaine.

The Apartment is a ribald comedy with some hard scenes, and it should be noted that Fred MacMurray was so convincing as a heel that was repeatedly accosted by angry fans after the film was released––prompting him to play the lovable father in My Three Sons.

BE ADVISED- This film is rated TV-PG, with smoking, drinking, period sexual references, attempted suicide, a punch in the nose, and the Eisenhower-era practice of overusing “wise” as a suffix to form an adjective or adverb.