My Favourite Movies: Double Indemnity (1944)

Anyone who knows me, or has been reading this Blog long enough, knows that I’m a huge fan of Crime Noir in both its book and film form. So I’ve been taking the opportunity over the Christmas/New Year break to catch up with some of my favourites.

I’ve probably seen Double Indemnity at least 10 times and probably closer to 20. It is, as it says on the back of my DVD copy, quintessentially film noir. For those who have missed out on this gem of a movie it stars Fred MacMurray as Insurance salesman Walter Neff who falls for lonely housewife Phyllis Dietrichson played by Barbara Stanwyck and plans to kill her abusive husband for the insurance money on his accident policy. Now Neff being an expert in the field devises a plan which he’s sure will pass scrutiny and net the couple a cool $100,000 once the type of accident – falling from a train – is factored in (doubling the pay-out hence the insurance clause and film title). It seems like a perfect plan – and it is – but they didn’t reckon with the companies stubborn reluctance to hand over the money (could they have got away with $50,000 I wonder?) and the deductive power of insurance investigator Barton Keyes played by Edward G Robinson. As it all starts to fall apart, the stress levels build and accusations fly in all directions panic sets in and both Neff and his (very) femme fatal decide that the only way to survive is to eliminate the other before they crack under the pressure.

It’s difficult to see who this could fail to please Noir fans. It has great acting by some of the best actors of the period, it’s directed by Billy Wilder who was involved in Sunset Boulevard (written by), The Seven Year Itch (screenplay), Some Like it Hot (screenplay) and The Apartment (written by), assisted by Raymond Chandler (say no more) from an original book by James M Cain. With a pedigree like that you’d be pretty confident you’ll be in for a treat – and so you are! It’s well paced, full of intrigue, Stanwyck in particular is great as the apparently helpless housewife who captivates MacMurray to such an extent that he doesn’t know which way is up – all with everyone keeping their clothes on. Then there’s the voice over/narration which, like a few more of my favourite noir films, starts at the end with a confession which leads into an extended flashback.

Oh, and researching it I discovered a few mistakes that made me chuckle. The movie was released in 1944 but was supposedly based in 1938 for unexplained reasons. This led to a few anachronisms that people who obviously have way too much time on their hands spotted: Although set in 1938, Walter Neff makes reference to the "The Philadelphia Story", which did not debut on Broadway until 1939, and on film until 1940. Plus: The movie is set in 1938, but at Stanwyck's house the radio is playing "Tangerine" which wasn't written until 1942. Both of which got a laugh when I read about them. The very sharp eyed amongst you will also spot that although the character Walter Neff is unmarried he wears a wedding ring throughout the movie. Apparently this was his real wedding ring which was only spotted in post-production. None of which detracts or distracts from one of the best Noir films ever made. If you haven’t seen this, or haven’t seen it for a while why don’t you treat yourself?