AFI 100: #80 - The Apartment

Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a low level corporate shrill in NYC.  Baxter works as an insurance clerk for a large company headquartered in downtown.  He's just a young kid trying to climb the corporate ladder through long hours and dedication, or so we think.  We find out Baxter has a fairly nice apartment across the street from Central Park, but he often doesn't go directly home after work.  It's not because of his dedication, but because of a strange arrangement he has made with his office superiors.  Baxter has agreed to lend out his apartment on various weekday nights as a secret home base to four different executives in the company so they can have secret liaisons with their young mistresses.

We see how much trouble this causes Baxter.  In one scene, he gets sick from sleeping out in the winter air of NYC when one of the bosses is using the apartment a little later than usual.  Then the next day when Baxter just wants to go home and recover from sickness the rest of the night, he has to work like crazy to rearrange the bosses' scheduled visits.  We see that the bosses themselves don't seem to care that Baxter's health, but rather only about their own affairs.

Besides work, Baxter also has a crush on a cute and sharp tongued elevator girl within his building.  The girl, Miss Kubelik, is played by Shirley MacLaine.

Eventually Baxter's generosity to his bosses pays off with four great recommendations from them to the director of HR.  There, the HR director, Mr. Sheldrake, played by Fred MacMurray, promotes Baxter to an office position.  However, he clever deducts why Baxter is so popular and asks to borrow the apartment himself.  The rub comes when we ironically discover that Sheldrake is using Baxter's apartment to romance Miss Kubelik.

Hijinks ensue as we see the true nature of adulterous relationships and when Baxter is ambushed by a tough situation.  Eventually Baxter has to make a decision.  What does he want more? Advancing his career or the girl of his dreams.

"The Apartment" is a good movie.  It's an interesting look into 1950s/1960s life in NYC a la AMC's "Mad Men."  Jack Lemmon does a great job portraying Baxter who is a nice, enthusiastic guy trying to find his way in the world.  Unfortunately, Baxter is too eager to please and often finds people taking advantage of his generosity and convenience.  It's gratifying to watch the film as he realizes high company positions may not be worth the price of being a pushover and losing out on what he really wants.  The movie can sometimes be sad and serious with its subject matter.  One example of this is seeing Baxter as an isolated bachelor engrossed in his work.  However, I never felt the movie's lighter mood was ever compromised.

I think ultimately people are drawn to the movie because they relate to Jack Lemmon's character.  Most of us have been in his shoes as a young professional sometimes feeling lonely and bored.

Movie Rating: *** - Average