A classic of late noir, despite the fact that no one is murdered or betrayed, apart from self-betrayal. It is indeed evident in Wilder’s best films that both comedy and tragedy are a kind of homeopathic medicine prescribed aesthetically in order to cope with the vagaries of 20th century life, especially when the two are combined in a single dose.
— Donald Brackett (Senses of Cinema)
While I was working with Mr. Lemmon for the first time on Some Like It Hot, I thought to myself, This guy’s got a little bit of genius. I would love to make another picture with him, but I don’t have a story. So I looked in my little black book and I came across a note about David Lean’s movie Brief Encounter, that story about a married woman who lives in the country, comes to London, and meets a man. They have an affair in his friend’s apartment. What I had written was, "What about the friend who has to crawl back into that warm bed?"
— Billy Wilder (Interview in Paris Review, 1996)
Synopsis: Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.