Episode 128: The Apartment (1960)

Two things make up the meaning of Christmas: career advancement and extramarital affairs! For our last episode of 2025, we watched The Apartment (1960), directed by Billy Wilder and starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.

Lemmon plays C.C. "Bud" Baxter, a middleman at an insurance company who allows his superiors to use his apartment to conduct extramarital affairs while falling in love with Fran (MacLaine), a woman with her own secret affair. The Apartment was nominated for 10 Oscars (winning 5) and has been added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry.

In this episode: cheating etiquette and cheap executives; using a broom to quiet your neighbors; the end of the Hays Code; sexuality in the late 1950s; Shirley MacLaine: Metaphysical Expert; do romantic comedies need a Big Kiss? (yes). Our recommendations: Cactus Flower (1969), It Happened One Night (1934) Support the show with a Ko-fi! ko-fi.com/blackgirlfilmclub Check out the rest of our socials at linktr.ee/blackgirlfilmclub