QWhy does Baxter have a cold? It doesn't seem to fit into the plot.
ABaxter has a cold because the previous night, Mr. Kirkeby [David Lewis] kept him waiting outside in the rain until 8:45 when he was supposed to be out of the apartment by 8:00. Then, once Baxter was settled back inside, Mr. Dobisch [Ray Walston] rang him up without a reservation because he'd found a girl in a bar. Baxter went out in his raincoat with only his pajamas on underneath, wearing slippers over stocking feet. While waiting for Dobisch, he sat on a bench in Central Park in the wind and rain and fell asleep. When he returned to the apartment, he found that Dobisch had left the wrong key under the mat (it was for the executive washroom), so at 4:00 a.m. he had to wake the landlady. The way the cold fits into the plot is that it's a way to show why Baxter isn't completely satisfied with the arrangement. Aside from that, Baxter's cold figures importantly into the story because if he hadn't become sick he wouldn't have cleared his schedule that night to stay home and wouldn't have had his apartment available for Mr. Sheldrake.
QHow much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
AFor detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for The Apartment can be found here.
ASheldrake's wife left him when she found out about his affairs, so he and Fran began a more exclusive relationship. When Sheldrake asks Baxter for his apartment key, Baxter refuses to give it to him. Sheldrake then tells Baxter that he can choose either to give him the key or to lose his job. Baxter quits and decides to move away. While Sheldrake and Fran are on a New Year's date, Fran finds out about Baxter refusing to give the key to Sheldrake; she realizes that Baxter really loves her and she could eventually love him. She runs to his apartment, catches him before he moves out, and they finish their gin game. Shut up and deal!
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