The 1960 film starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine that won the Academy Award for Best Picture is The Apartment.
Billy Wilder directed and produced this romantic comedy-drama from a screenplay co-written with I. A. L. Diamond. Lemmon plays C. C. “Bud” Baxter, an ambitious insurance clerk who lends his apartment to senior executives for their extramarital affairs, hoping the arrangement will help him advance at work. MacLaine plays Fran Kubelik, an elevator operator whose relationship with Baxter becomes central to the story.
The film blends comedy with serious subjects, including workplace exploitation, loneliness, adultery, and a suicide attempt. Its frank treatment of office relationships was unusually daring for a mainstream Hollywood production, yet Wilder balanced the darker material with sharp dialogue and moments of warmth.
The Apartment was nominated for 10 Oscars at the 33rd Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Lemmon and MacLaine were nominated for acting but did not win. The film is also notable for being shot in black and white; it became one of the last black-and-white Best Picture winners before color became dominant in Hollywood.