Billy Wilder was one of the most talented directors ever to have worked in Hollywood, renowned for his ability to jump effortlessly from one genre to another. He was as comfortable making film noir as he was comedy, but it was in the latter genre where he excelled the most. The Apartment is Wilder's comedy masterpiece starring Jack Lemmon as "Bud" Baxter, a put-upon employee of a large corporation who loans the use of his titular abode to the higher ups so they can have some fun with their mistresses. One cold, snivelling winter he meets Fran (Shirley MacLaine) and the two become embroiled in a mixture of sexual and office politics. The Apartment won a raft of Academy Awards when it was released in 1960 and for good reason - Wilder's script and direction is completely on the money, as emotionally powerful as it is full of sharp jokes and trenchant comments on infidelity and the corporate rat race.
