What is The Apartment about?

The film follows C.C. Baxter, an insurance clerk who lends his apartment to corporate executives for promotions, while navigating a romantic relationship with elevator operator Fran Kubelik, who is also being manipulated by a married executive.

Why is The Apartment significant in film history?

It is a landmark romantic comedy-drama that critiques corporate ethics and gender dynamics, featuring a groundbreaking narrative structure and character development. Its influence is evident in later workplace satires and romantic comedies.

Who wrote and directed The Apartment?

Billy Wilder co-wrote the screenplay with I.A.L. Diamond and directed the film, marking one of his most acclaimed works alongside *Sunset Boulevard* and *Double Indemnity*.

What awards did The Apartment win?

The film won three Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay) and was nominated for five, including Best Actor for Jack Lemmon and Best Actress for Shirley MacLaine.

How was The Apartment preserved?

It was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1994, deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

What themes does The Apartment explore?

The film satirizes corporate ladder-climbing, gender inequality, and emotional exploitation, balancing dark humor with poignant character studies of loneliness and moral compromise.

The Apartment

1960 film directed by Billy Wilder

Movie Film Q270510

Facts

46 properties

Instance of: film
Award received: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Film Editing, Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Black and White, National Board of Review: Top Ten Films^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]
Director: Billy Wilder^[8]
Genre: romantic comedy film, drama film, Christmas film^[12]^[13]^[14]
Publication date: June 15, 1960, September 16, 1960, January 16, 1961^[41]^[42]^[43]
Screenwriter: Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond^[9]^[10]
Producer: Billy Wilder^[29]
Part of: National Film Registry^[32]
Nominated for: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award for Best Actor, Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Academy Award for Best Film Editing, Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Black and White, Academy Award for Best Sound^[50]^[51]^[52]^[53]^[54]^[55]^[56]^[57]^[58]^[59]
Duration: +125
Aspect ratio (W:H): 2.35:1
Assessment: Bechdel test
Australian Classification: PG
BBFC rating: PG certificate
Box office: +18600000, +24600000
CNC film rating (France): no age restriction
CNC film rating (Romania): A.G.
Capital cost: +3000000
Cast member: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, David Lewis, Edie Adams, Jack Kruschen, Joan Shawlee, Naomi Stevens, Johnny Seven, Joyce Jameson, David White, Paul Picerni, Hal Smith, Hope Holiday, Willard Waterman^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26]^[27]^[28]
Color: black-and-white^[39]
Composer: Adolph Deutsch^[11]
Country of origin: United States^[40]
Derivative work: Promises, Promises
Described by source: AWFJ’s Top 100 Films List^[49]

Show all 46 facts +22

Director of photography: Joseph LaShelle^[31]
Distributed by: United Artists, Netflix^[44]^[45]
Distribution format: video on demand^[34]
EIRIN film rating: G
FSK film rating: FSK 16
Film editor: Daniel Mandell^[48]
Filming location: New York City^[47]
IGAC rating: M/12
IMDA rating: PG
KMRB film rating: 15
Kijkwijzer rating: Kijkwijzer 6
Medierådet rating: Prohibited for children under 16
NMHH film rating: Category III
Narrative location: New York City^[46]
Original language of film or TV show: English^[33]
Production company: The Mirisch Company^[30]
Production designer: Alexandre Trauner
RCQ classification: G
RTC film rating: B
Review score: 8.8/10, 94%, 94/100, 8.3/10^[35]^[36]^[37]^[38]
Set during recurring event: New Year, Christmas and holiday season
Title: The Apartment, Ungkarlslyan^[60]^[61]

🏷️ Also known as

en Apartment en The Apartment ar الشقة cs Byt da Nøglen under måtten de Das Appartement de The Apartment el Η Γκαρσονιέρα es El apartamento es The Apartament fa آپارتمان fa اپارتمان fi Apartment fi Poikamiesboksi fi The Apartment fr Garçonnière fr La Garconniere fr La Garçonnière fr The Apartment he הדירה

🔖 Identifiers · 105

VIAF cluster ID: 316751778
Library of Congress Authorities ID: no98053146
GND ID: 4358936-4
1SCREEN movie ID: 91
ACMI ID: works/83102
AFI Catalog of Feature Films ID: 53080
Academy Awards Database film ID: 83
Academy Collection film ID: W063388
AllMovie title ID: v2667
Allcinema film ID: 1045
AlloCiné film ID: 2252
Amazon Standard Identification Number: B004AUHWLQ

Show all 105 identifiers +93

Apple TV movie ID: umc.cmc.1720r16d0p7cvx2aciwwxotnj
BBC programme ID: m000cryv
Bechdel Test Movie List ID: 1995
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 16463244t
Blu-ray.com ID: 58550
CANTIC ID: 981058515785806706
Cine.gr film ID (archived): 1942
Cinema Context ID: F018604
Cinema.de ID: 1321451
Cinematografo.it film ID: 11817
Cinematografo.it film ID (new): lappartamento-ag5m6yq0
Cineplex Germany film ID: 19790
Ciné-Ressources film ID: 36838
Cinémathèque québécoise work ID: 5177
DNF film ID: 3396
Deutsche Synchronkartei film ID: 190
Does the Dog Die? media ID: 14024
Douban film ID: 1394218
Dvdcompare.net film ID: 20k (1.2k–61k, n=3)
EDb film ID: t0002029
EIDR content ID: 10.5240/87CC-BB70-F3E8-5E25-80DC-K
Eiga.com movie ID: 3609
ElCinema film ID: 2012095
ElFilm film ID: 53504
Elonet movie ID: 191701
Encyclopedia of China (Third Edition) ID (2026): 3SsSVD
Encyclopedia of China (Third Edition) old ID (2021): 146147
Exploitation mark number: 23550
FandangoNow ID (deprecated scheme): MMVC24B8B63ADE21A7FA38665F070A9874A1
Fernsehserien.de ID: filme/das-appartement
FilmAffinity film ID: 795770
FilmPolski ID: 15467
FilmVandaag ID: film/4314
Filmarks ID: movies/18312
Filmfront film ID (archived): 4616
Filmová databáze film ID: 2712
Filmportal ID: 14429f294299477f81e23f1be71b3616
Filmweb.no film ID: 31394
Filmweb.pl film ID: 34639
Freebase ID: /m/0b_5d
Garance item ID: 8296292
IDU literary work ID: 253
IMCDB work ID: 53604
IMDb ID: tt0053604
ISAN: 0000-0000-FC63-0000-J-0000-0000-H
ITunes movie ID: 303904676
IdRef ID: 177354933
Il cinema ritrovato film ID: the-apartment
KINENOTE film ID: 417
Kanopy ID: 11553306
Kinobox film ID: 4881
Kinopoisk film ID: 404
LUMIERE film ID: 15987
LdiF ID: 47082
Letterboxd film ID: the-apartment
MUBI film numeric ID: 1694
MYmovies audiovisual work ID: 1866
Metacritic ID: movie/the-apartment
Movie Review Query Engine ID: the-apartment-m100018932
Movie Walker Press film ID: mv416
MovieLens movie ID: 909
MovieMeter film ID: 1579
Moviepilot.de film ID: das-appartement
MusicBrainz work ID: 0519ecd6-355b-45db-816d-14e0f69cc580
National Library of Spain SpMaBN ID: XX4211246
Netflix ID: 60011007
OFDb film ID: 10994
OMDb film ID: 284
PORT film ID: 1475
Plex media key: 5d776d1396b655001fe3ea06
Prime Video GTI: amzn1.dv.gti.cb7d6bb5-084a-4190-a392-a9b38e521eb3
Quora topic ID: The-Apartment-1
Rotten Tomatoes ID: m/1001115-apartment
Schnittberichte.com title ID: 41104
Scope.dk film ID: 1179
SensCritique work ID: 423801
Sratim ID: tt121881
Swedish Film Database ID: 23109
TCM Movie Database film ID (archived): 16634
TMDB movie ID: 284
TV Guide show ID (former scheme): 123875
TV Tropes ID: Film/TheApartment
TV.com ID (archived): movies/the-apartment-1960
The Numbers movie ID: Apartment-The
TheTVDB movie ID: 3801
Trakt.tv ID: movies/the-apartment-1960
Trakt.tv film ID: 238
U-NEXT video ID: SID0029621
Unconsenting Media ID: 2927
University of Barcelona authority ID: 981058515785806706
Yle Areena item ID: 1-1973692
Zhihu topic ID: 20101524
ČSFD film ID: 9772

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Cast member 16

Shirley MacLaine, Jack Lemmon, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Edie Adams, Hal Smith, David White, Jack Kruschen +8 more

Nominated for 8

Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Actor, Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, Academy Award for Best Film Editing, Academy Award for Best Sound

Award received 5

Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, Academy Award for Best Film Editing, National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Genre 3

drama film, romantic comedy, Christmas film

Distributed by 2

Netflix, United Artists

Screenwriter 2

Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond

Set during recurring event 2

New Year, Christmas and holiday season

← Based on 2

Raaste Kaa Patthar, Promises, Promises

← Mb:composer 2

Adolph Deutsch, Adolph Deutsch

Assessment 1

Bechdel test

Color 1

black-and-white

Composer 1

Adolph Deutsch

Country of origin 1

United States

Created notable works 1

Billy Wilder

Derivative work 1

Promises, Promises

Director 1

Billy Wilder

Director of photography 1

Joseph LaShelle

Distribution format 1

video on demand

Film editor 1

Daniel Mandell

Filming location 1

New York City

Instance of 1

film

Mb:parts 1

Theme from The Apartment

Narrative location 1

New York City

Original language of film or TV show 1

English

Part of 1

National Film Registry

Producer 1

Billy Wilder

Production company 1

The Mirisch Company

Production designer 1

Alexandre Trauner

← FactGrid item ID 1

Pierre Paul Royer-Collard

← Winner 1

Academy Award for Best Picture

Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

The Apartment is a film^[1].

FAQs

What awards did The Apartment receive?

Honors received include Academy Award for Best Picture^[2], Academy Award for Best Director^[3], Academy Award for Best Film Editing^[4], and Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay^[5].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[8] ↑ The Apartment — director (P57): Billy Wilder. imdb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13. imdb.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ The Apartment — screenwriter (P58): Billy Wilder. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ The Apartment — screenwriter (P58): I. A. L. Diamond. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ The Apartment — composer (P86): Adolph Deutsch. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ The Apartment — genre (P136): romantic comedy film. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ The Apartment — genre (P136): drama film. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ The Apartment — genre (P136): Christmas film. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Jack Lemmon. allocine.fr. Retrieved 2016-04-13. allocine.fr. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Shirley MacLaine. allocine.fr. Retrieved 2016-04-13. allocine.fr. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Fred MacMurray. allocine.fr. Retrieved 2016-04-13. allocine.fr. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Ray Walston. allocine.fr. Retrieved 2016-04-13. allocine.fr. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): David Lewis. imdb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13. imdb.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Edie Adams. imdb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13. imdb.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Jack Kruschen. imdb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13. imdb.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[22] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Joan Shawlee. imdb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13. imdb.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[23] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Naomi Stevens. imdb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13. imdb.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[24] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Johnny Seven. imdb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13. imdb.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[25] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Joyce Jameson. imdb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13. imdb.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[26] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): David White. imdb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-13. imdb.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[27] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Paul Picerni. Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze. wikidata.org.
[28] ↑ The Apartment — cast member (P161): Hal Smith. Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze. wikidata.org.
[29] ↑ The Apartment — producer (P162): Billy Wilder. wikidata.org.
[2] ↑ The Apartment — award received (P166): Academy Award for Best Picture. oscars.org. oscars.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ The Apartment — award received (P166): Academy Award for Best Director. oscars.org. oscars.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ The Apartment — award received (P166): Academy Award for Best Film Editing. oscars.org. oscars.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ The Apartment — award received (P166): Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. oscars.org. oscars.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ The Apartment — award received (P166): Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Black and White. oscars.org. oscars.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ The Apartment — award received (P166): National Board of Review: Top Ten Films. wikidata.org.
[30] ↑ The Apartment — production company (P272): The Mirisch Company. wikidata.org.
[31] ↑ The Apartment — director of photography (P344): Joseph LaShelle. wikidata.org.
[32] ↑ The Apartment — part of (P361): National Film Registry. loc.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-25. loc.gov. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[33] ↑ The Apartment — original language of film or TV show (P364): English. wikidata.org.
[34] ↑ The Apartment — distribution format (P437): video on demand. wikidata.org.
[35] ↑ The Apartment — review score (P444): 8.8/10. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2021-10-05. wikidata.org.
[36] ↑ The Apartment — review score (P444): 94%. wikidata.org.
[37] ↑ The Apartment — review score (P444): 94/100. wikidata.org.
[38] ↑ The Apartment — review score (P444): 8.3/10. IMDb. wikidata.org.
[39] ↑ The Apartment — color (P462): black-and-white. wikidata.org.
[40] ↑ The Apartment — country of origin (P495): United States. wikidata.org.
[41] ↑ The Apartment — publication date (P577): June 15, 1960. IMDb. Retrieved 2022-06-05. imdb.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[42] ↑ The Apartment — publication date (P577): September 16, 1960. Lexicon of international films. wikidata.org.
[43] ↑ The Apartment — publication date (P577): January 16, 1961. wikidata.org.
[44] ↑ The Apartment — distributed by (P750): United Artists. wikidata.org.
[45] ↑ The Apartment — distributed by (P750): Netflix. wikidata.org.
[46] ↑ The Apartment — narrative location (P840): New York City. wikidata.org.
[47] ↑ The Apartment — filming location (P915): New York City. wikidata.org.
[48] ↑ The Apartment — film editor (P1040): Daniel Mandell. wikidata.org.
[49] ↑ The Apartment — described by source (P1343): AWFJ’s Top 100 Films List. wikidata.org.
[50] ↑ The Apartment — nominated for (P1411): Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. wikidata.org.
[51] ↑ The Apartment — nominated for (P1411): Academy Award for Best Actor. wikidata.org.
[52] ↑ The Apartment — nominated for (P1411): Academy Award for Best Actress. wikidata.org.
[53] ↑ The Apartment — nominated for (P1411): Academy Award for Best Director. wikidata.org.
[54] ↑ The Apartment — nominated for (P1411): Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White. wikidata.org.
[55] ↑ The Apartment — nominated for (P1411): Academy Award for Best Film Editing. wikidata.org.
[56] ↑ The Apartment — nominated for (P1411): Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay. wikidata.org.
[57] ↑ The Apartment — nominated for (P1411): Academy Award for Best Picture. wikidata.org.
[58] ↑ The Apartment — nominated for (P1411): Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Black and White. wikidata.org.
[59] ↑ The Apartment — nominated for (P1411): Academy Award for Best Sound. wikidata.org.
[60] ↑ The Apartment — title (P1476): The Apartment. wikidata.org.
[61] ↑ The Apartment — title (P1476): Ungkarlslyan. wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

[1] ↑ The Apartment is an instance of film (Q11424) [P31, primary]. Wikidata. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). The Apartment. Retrieved November 11, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-apartment

MLA “The Apartment.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 11 Nov. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-apartment.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_the-apartment_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{The Apartment}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-apartment}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-11}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): The Apartment — https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-apartment (retrieved 2026-11-11)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/the-apartment · Last refreshed: November 11, 2026

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

28d ago · Quesotiotyo · 2026-10-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Academy Collection film ID → W063388

"Created claim: Academy Collection film ID: W063388, batch #290954"
10w ago · MsMorale · 2026-08-31 view diff on Wikidata ↗

IMCDB work ID → 53604

"Created claim: IMCDB work ID: 53604, batch #269964"
11w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-08-22 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Filmová databáze film ID → 2712

"Created claim: Filmová databáze film ID: 2712, batch #269265"
14w ago · Rémi sim · 2026-08-02 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Garance item ID → 8296292

"Created claim: Garance item ID: 8296292"
17w ago · Nyuhn · 2026-07-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Encyclopedia of China (Third Edition) ID (2026) → 3SsSVD

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #40849: ZGBK ID"
18w ago · ならちゃん · 2026-07-04 view diff on Wikidata ↗

U-NEXT video ID → SID0029621

"Created claim: U-NEXT video ID: SID0029621, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1783177899700"
19w ago · ならちゃん · 2026-07-02 view diff on Wikidata ↗

1SCREEN movie ID → 91

"Created claim: 1SCREEN movie ID: 91, Matched to アパートの鍵貸します (#296211355) in 1SCREEN movies #mix'n'm"
19w ago · Rémi sim · 2026-06-27 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Il cinema ritrovato film ID → the-apartment

"Created claim: Il cinema ritrovato film ID: the-apartment, Matched to THE APARTMENT (#295963018) in Il cinema r…"
20w ago · Yirba · 2026-06-25 view diff on Wikidata ↗

MovieLens movie ID → 909

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #38225: MovieLens IDs (part 1)"
20w ago · Reubot · 2026-06-21 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Prime Video GTI → amzn1.dv.gti.cb7d6bb5-084a-4190-a392-a9b38e521eb3

"Created claim: Prime Video GTI: amzn1.dv.gti.cb7d6bb5-084a-4190-a392-a9b38e521eb3, batch #259783"
20w ago · MrRobertman · 2026-06-21 view diff on Wikidata ↗

BBFC rating → PG certificate

SensCritique work ID → 423801

KMRB film rating → 15

Blu-ray.com ID → 58550

+ 7 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)

"Created claim: SensCritique work ID: 423801, Added via Tricorder v2.0"

Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.

The Apartment

Facts

Summary

FAQs

What awards did The Apartment receive?

Related Entities

References

Direct Wikidata claims

Class ancestry

📑 Cite this page

Edit History