Billy Wilder is the GOAT and The Apartment (1960) proves it

Image from Nick’s Film Jottings blog

June 22 is Billy Wilder’s birthday and once again, I am going to gush about him, because, frankly I wouldn’t be here without him. Shout-out to watching classic movies as a teenager and subsequently thinking screenwriting was a good option instead of going outside and playing with the other kids, yo!

I mean, the man is the greatest of all time. There is no-one above him. Sunset Boulevard (1950), Some Like It Hot (1959), Double Indemnity (1944), Stalag 17 (1953), The Lost Weekend (1945)… it’s insane that all of those films were made by the person!

And then there’s The Apartment (1960). And at the risk of not doing my favorite film of all time justice, I will tentatively share my thoughts on a particular scene from it that I think sums up Wilder’s genius.

Here’s the deal: C. C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is an insurance clerk in New York City who tries to climb up the corporate ladder by allowing his bosses to use his apartment for their liasions. Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine) is the elevator girl who is, of course, having an affair with the boss, Jeff Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray). Now, I want to point out that every single scene in this film is a masterclass in storytelling and screenwriting and, again, I couldn’t possibly to it justice and besides, other people have done it way better than me. But one scene that always has me shaking my head in disbelief and admiration is the one where Fran and Sheldrake meet up in the restaurant.

Dramedy

The Apartment is a dramedy by definition and Wilder and Izzy Diamond’s knack for balancing out both genres was never better than in this scene. Sheldrake tells Fran he can’t see her anymore. She cries. She hates herself for believing him in the first place. She changes the subject (‘same sauce, sweet and sour’), she cries some more. She eats shrimp. Shrimp. The line about the shrimp not being what it used to be brings an otherwise unbearably sad scene to a halt, by alleviating the tension and giving us a little tiny bit of humour that we so desperately needed at that point. We navigate that scene with Fran, with a lump in our throats, and just when we thought Wilder would break our hearts even further, he doesn’t. He rescues Fran and us in the process…

Wilder touch

That is the Billy Wilder touch and it is present throughout the film. A flawless screenplay that gives everyone else’s screenplays a run for their money (thanks, Billy). And Shirley MacLaine should have won an Oscar for it. But that’s for another day.