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Double Indemnity


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Director Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard) and writer Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep) adapted James M. Cain's hard-boiled novel into this wildly thrilling story of insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), who schemes the perfect murder with the beautiful dame Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck: kill Dietrichson's husband and make off with the insurance money. But, of course, in these plots things never quite go as planned, and Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) is the wily insurance investigator who must sort things out. From the opening scene you know Neff is doomed, as the story is told in flashback; yet, to the film's credit, this doesn't diminish any of the tension of the movie. This early film noir flick is wonderfully campy by today's standards, and the dialogue is snappy ("I thought you were smarter than the rest, Walter. But I was wrong. You're not smarter, just a little taller"), filled with lots of "dame"s and "baby"s. Stanwyck is the ultimate femme fatale, and MacMurray, despite a career largely defined by roles as a softy (notably in the TV series My Three Sons and the movie The Shaggy Dog), is convincingly cast against type as the hapless, love-struck sap. --Jenny Brown


WILD BUT DUBIOUS DEBUT FOR A CLASSIC
Review date: 2008-07-24 Rating: 8 out of 10

the theme by now has been done to death itself of two evil lovers plotting the murder of an older spouse to claim his riches ,

that stanwyck is typecast as the hard -blonde who kills without flinching an eyelid and fred is a very atypical insurance agent who falls for a blonde woman of dubious charmS is even more shaky,

but there are delights indeed ,the sharp images ,lyrical shadows ,incisive dialogues and a taut narrative which keep your attention despite the flaws,

and that is billy wilder telling a story and he seldom can go wrong or enter the world of cliches despite being in a stereotyped los angeles where no one is an angel and money is the altar to worship,

i find the movie over-hyped and improbable but the story is gripping and you are fascinated by the twists which are at times predictable but still worth watching for the stylish execution and the style does matter in a noir thriller ,

though the cast is not as good as either l.a confidential,body HEAT or In a lonely place- but than those are artistic masterpieces ,

but watch this and then compare to see what you make of the lot .

the exercise will be worth while itself ,

also THE big easy is another clone from this wildly stylish wilder product

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Reviews


A classic
Review date: 2008-05-11 Rating: 8 out of 10

I am not an aficionado of film noir, but I thoroughly enjoyed this pic with its lovely black and white photography, but most of all the dialogue was superb, with some fast repartee between the main characters. I liked the repetitiousness of various scenes: the constant lighting of cigarettes, certain lines repeated. It made it all feel very theatrical, but also very crafted. Since watching this, have put another few film noir on my Amazon list, including two or three by master Billy Wilder

suuuuuurweet!
Review date: 2008-01-17 Rating: 10 out of 10

if ever there was a stereotypical femme fatale the award goes to barbara stanwyck, this film id full of suspense, with a great plot and many jaw dropping moments, a classsc and a must to any dvd collection!

Straight down the line, baby
Review date: 2008-01-03 Rating: 8 out of 10

Barbara Stanwyck with an odd looking, but no doubt fashionable in the 40's, hair "do" plays a snakey, vampy woman who seduces gullible life insurance salesman, Fred MacMurray, into helping her kill her husband for his insurance policy. The story begins at the end of the film, if that makes sense, with MacMurray narrating how he first met Babs and his subsequent involvement with her.

A huge part of it's appeal for me is MacMurray's narration which is in the style of "As I drove down 25th and 3rd I couldn't shake her from my mind, she was the sort of dame who got under your skin and prickled like a burning heat, no matter how much you scratched you knew she wasn't going to stop itching", all that sort of thing which is just classic.

If you like your women murderous and slinky and your films on the noir side then watch this and enjoy!


Good, but not THAT good
Review date: 2007-11-23 Rating: 6 out of 10

I'm afraid that, despite its pedigree and high reputation, Double Indemnity still just doesn't grab me that much. Partially it's because the film simply isn't good enough to live up to its reputation, but largely because of the disastrous miscasting of Barbara Stanwyck, who simply doesn't sell as the kind of woman you'd kill for. Enter a dodgy real estate deal or run confidence tricks with, sure, but she's just not the kind of gal to make a feller's privates jump up and do tricks until he's so desperate he'll kill her husband for her, and the trashy wardrobe and wig just makes her seem even less likely. She doesn't give a bad performance, but she's the wrong actress in the wrong movie. Fred McMurray isn't a perfect fit either as the easily corrupted insurance man behind the plan, but he at least is able to twist his image enough to more or less get away with it, even if at times it does feel like you're watching the local scout master and the church organist in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire... Edward G. Robinson fares better in a part that relies more on fast-talking statistics than especially good dialog (there are far fewer gems here than in probably any other Wilder film), but his character still feels more like a plot device than a person at times, only really delivering some genuine humanity in his last couple of scenes. Don't get me wrong, it's an okay film - just not in any way an outstanding one.

Unlike the US two-disc special edition, the UK DVD has no extras at all.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Edward G. Robinson
Fred MacMurray
Porter Hall
Barbara Stanwyck
Jean Heather

Creators:
Fred MacMurray (Primary Contributor)
Barbara Stanwyck (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Pictures UK
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK
EAN: 5050582480467
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-02-12
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 103 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1944
Language: English (Original Language)

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