A New Year in THE APARTMENT

It's one of my favorite works of art. Movie-wise. The Billy Wilder classic, THE APARTMENT, touches me every time I see it. Director, co-writer and producer Wilder won Oscars for his work. The film won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1960. Stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine landed Oscar nominations.

Weekend NPR host, Scott Simon, has an online feature called OPEN BOOK that many of us follow on Twitter. On Thursday, Dec. 29th, I had the terrific opportunity to be his guest for a discussion of Billy Wilder's THE APARTMENT. I loved doing that show with Scott. We discussed things about the movie that you don't often hear discussed -- for instance, positive racial images in the movie, the British film starring Petula Clark that was the source of the music that later become known as the Theme to THE APARTMENT and how the wonderful 2000 film from Cameron Crowe, ALMOST FAMOUS, is a valentine to Billy Wilder's classic. Crowe interviewed and was inspired by Billy Wilder. He wrote a book about their conversations and Billy Wilder saw ALMOST FAMOUS.

If you've seen THE APARTMENT, I do not have to explain the plot and characters to you. If you have not seen THE APARTMENT, I urge you to find it and watch it before reading the rest of this. blog post. You can return to it after you've seen the movie.

Here's another image that warms my heart in the movie. A great image and a sublime piece of acting from Shirley MacLaine as Fran Kubelik. After being humiliated and suicidal from her affair with Mr. Sheldrake, she falls again for his phony professions of love and goes out with him on New Year's Eve. She wears a paper party hat that resembles a crown. She comes to realize that he's a philandering jerk and she's right back where she started -- until comes the other realization that someone truly does love her. He's C.C. Baxter, the man who rescued her. The camera stays on Fran as the crowd sings "Auld Lang Syne." You can see her spirit resurrect and live again. In another shot, Mr. Sheldrake sees that Fran has departed. Her crown-like paper hat is on her chair as if she's abdicated her position of being Queen of Nothing in that relationship.

The new year starts with a renewed Fran Kubelik running to the apartment of the man who loves her. The man who saved her life on Christmas Eve. He's alone. And lonely. The mensch who assumes Fran has gone back to his ex-boss, Mr. Sheldrake.

What a tender and memorable holiday movie. HAPPY NEW YEAR!