Double Indemnity (1944)

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

James M. Cain (novel)
Billy Wilder (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 April 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

It's Love And Murder At First Sight !

Plot:

An insurance rep lets himself be talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigator's suspicions.

Plot Keywords:

Insurance | Murder | Insurance Investigator | Insurance Salesman | Insurance Agent

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

Fred MacMurray	...	Walter Neff
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Phyllis Dietrichson
Edward G. Robinson	...	Barton Keyes
Porter Hall	...	Mr. Jackson
Jean Heather	...	Lola Dietrichson
Tom Powers	...	Mr. Dietrichson
Byron Barr	...	Nino Zachetti
Richard Gaines	...	Edward S. Norton, Jr.
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Sam Garlopis
John Philliber	...	Joe Peters
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George Anderson	...	Warden at Execution (scenes deleted)
Al Bridge	...	Execution Chamber Guard (scenes deleted)
Edward Hearn	...	Warden's Secretary (scenes deleted)
Boyd Irwin	...	First Doctor at Execution (scenes deleted)
George Melford	...	Second Doctor at Execution (scenes deleted)
William O'Leary	...	Chaplain at Execution (scenes deleted)
Lee Shumway	...	Door Guard at Execution (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Assurance sur la mort (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Frau ohne Gewissen (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Çifte tazminat (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Double Indemnity - Nainen ilman omaatuntoa (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]
Dvostruka obmana (Serbia) [sr]
Kolasmeni agapi (Greece) [el]
Kvinden uden samvittighed (Denmark) [da]
Kvinna utan samvete (Sweden) [sv]
La fiamma del peccato (Italy) [it]
Me dipli taftotita (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
Nainen ilman omaatuntoa (Finland) [fi]
Pacto de Sangue (Brazil) [pt]
Pacto de sangre (Argentina) [es]
Pagos a Dobrar (Portugal) [pt]
Perdición (Spain) [es]
Podwójne ubezpieczenie (Poland) [pl]
Shinya no kokuhaku (Japan) [ja]
Verzekering op de dood (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]

Runtime:

107 min | Argentina:110 min | Canada:90 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Germany:16 | Norway:16 | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | USA:Approved | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

1825 N. Kingsley Drive, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Neff meets with the President of his company, he returns to his apartment and places a folder on the chair to the right of the door. When Keyes comes to the door, after Neff's brief phone conversation, the folder is nowhere to be seen.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Building attendant: Well, hello there, Mr. Neff.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in La mala educación (2004)

Soundtrack:

Tangerine

The definitive Film Noir.

Double Indemnity is a film which fully embodies its genre, all the classic noir elements are present: venetian blinds, diagonal lines, a femme fatale and a victim of fate.

Fred MacMurray takes the central role as victim of fate, Walter Neff; cast against type, MacMurray gives a thoroughly convincing performance as a typical insurance salesman transformed into a calculated killer.

The estimable Barbara Stanwyck also delivers a typically faultless performance as the coldhearted and seductive Phyllis Dietrichson who enlists Walter in a plot to kill her husband and cash in on the insurance money.

Although this film may seem cliched today, as many thrillers since have offered similar plotlines, rarely has the story been told so well. For fans of Film Noir, Stanwyck or MacMurray, this is an absolute MUST SEE!