The Apartment

This 1960 romantic comedy devolves from the premise that corporate advancement can be enhanced by loaning your convenient apartment to fellow workers with a more intimate interpretation of the term social climbing. The consequences can be tragic or hilarious, and this movie clearly choses the latter direction. The three top characters, played by Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray show great skill in pulling this off.

The movie earned five Academy Awards:

• Best Picture - Billy Wilder, producer
• Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White - Edward G. Boyle, andAlexandre Trauner
• Director - Billy Wilder
• Film Editing - Daniel Mandell
• Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen - I.A.L. Diamond, and Billy Wilder

It received an additional five nominations

• Best Actor in a Leading Role - Jack Lemmon
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Jack Kruschen
• Best Actress in a Leading Role - Shirley MacLaine
• Cinematography, Black-and-White - Joseph LaShelle
• Best Sound - Gordon Sawyer (Samuel Goldwyn SSD)