Monday, December 31, 2012

indelible moment: Wilder's "The Apartment" (1960)

"Ring out the old year, ring in the new. Ring-a-ding-ding" - Fran Kubelik, forelorn on New Year's Eve.
- From Billy Wilder's "The Apartment" (1960), an apt quote to end 2012.
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4 comments:

Chris said...

A great scene -- haven't thought of it in years.

6:21 PM
Peter said...

and this brokenhearted Xmas party scene is timeless, poignancy-wise http://goo.gl/EX77K

6:38 PM
wwolfe said...

I've always thought that Fred MacMurray should have won an Oscar - or at the very least been nominated - for his performance in this movie. There was no trace of nice guy Fred in his work, and never a moment when he in effect stood a step or two back from the character and let the audience know that he, the movie star, certainly had nothing in common with the awful character he was playing. A really fine performance.

4:27 PM
joe baltake said...

I agree. He's amazing in the role, particularly when you consider that he's playing the least defined character in the film. It could have been a cliche. Incidentally, the part was written with Paul Douglas in mind, but he died just as filming began. Wilder was in a tight spot and reached out to his "Double Indemnity" star to step up and play the part.

4:39 PM

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