This is the 75th Anniversary of that great noir movie, Double Indemnity (1944). Directed by Billy Wilder, co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, Double Indemnity ignited a series of noir movies in the Post-World War II era. The screenplay was based on James M. Cain’s 1943 novel of the same name (which originally appeared as an eight-part serial in Liberty magazine, starting with the February 1936 issue).
Fred MacMurray portrays an insurance salesman who fails for the Wrong Woman. Crafty Barbara Stanwyck plays a provocative housewife who wishes her husband were dead (and that she had the insurance money, too). Savvy Edward G. Robinson plays an insurance claims adjuster whose job is to investigate suspicious claims. The term “double indemnity” refers to a clause in life insurance policies that doubles the payout in rare cases when death is caused accidentally.
Double Indemnity was nominated for seven Academy Awards yet did not win any. But today, Double Indemnity is considered a noir classic. Are you a fan of Double Indemnity?
Love this movie. The only time I have ever liked Fred MacMurray. Probably Edward G. Robinson’s best performance. Billy Wilder’s second best movie. The first would be Sunset Boulevard.
Steve, I’m with you all the way! Fred MacMurray delivered the performance of his career. Edward G. Robinson was brilliant. Billy Wilder directed a classic with this film.
Love this one too. By the time I first saw it, I was familiar with MacMurray in his bland Disney and sitcom persona. Quite a difference here.
Jeff, I had the same reaction. Fred MacMurray’s comic roles and bland performances didn’t prepare me for the noir character he plays in DOUBLE INDEMNITY.
Interesting differences between the movie and the book, most notably the Stanwyck character (a serial killer in the book) and the bond of affection between Robinson & MacMurray in the film. I like to think that was Chandler’s contribution, but who knows?
Dan, you might be right about Raymond Chandler’s influence on the film. I’m a fan of both James M. Cain’s book and this movie.
I love it—especially the “get around the Production Code” touches such as Stanwyck’s wearing an ankle bracelet, which let audiences know without any words that she’s a “bad/fast” woman. I also love the scene where Stanwyck and MacMurray indulge in some flirtatious role-play (again, a great way to circumvent the code) after he makes a pass at her (we know he’s a bad guy because he flirts with a married woman) and she says, “You know there’s a speed limit in this state.” And he replies, “How fast was I going, officer?” And it takes off from there.
I do have to make one small correction to your synopsis, George. The double indemnity clause doesn’t just refer to an accident, but a specific type of accident. In the case of the policy on Stanwyck’s husband, the life insurance payout is doubled if he dies on a train or in an accident related to a train. A good portion of the movie is devoted to Stanwyck and MacMurray setting up this “accident.”
It’s been a while since I read the book (and I hope this won’t be a spoiler to anyone) but I seem to recall that in that story the couple technically get away with the murder but have to leave the U.S. and will be condemned to a fugitive’s life forever.
Deb, you’re right about the clause about a fatal accident on a train. From the first shot of her, audiences could tell that Stanwyck was a “bad/fast” woman!
This is a very educational blog. I had no idea that wearing an ankle bracelet was considered the sign of a “bad/fast” woman, although the thing did seem to be lingered over in the movie. Thanks, Deb. I guess at some point they went out of style because you rarely see them now.
I learned that at the age of about 11 when my Dad forbade me (with no explanation) wearing an ankle bracelet a friend had given me as a gift. When I sulked about it, my older cousin whispered to me, “Ankle bracelets are associated with women of ill-repute.” Indeed!
Deb, there’s a fashion “code” that communicates a person’s persona. Of course, the code changes all the time!
Michael, now it’s tattoos and piercings that tend to signify a “bad/fast” girl. Or guy.
Yep, a very good one.
Rick, I find it hard to believe it’s been 75 years since DOUBLE INDEMNITY first showed up in movie theaters.
Those were the good old days when Germans/Austrians reigned in Hollywood – of course almost all of them Jews …
What a pity that we lost all these people!
Many Germans like me still don’t understand that hate the Nazis produced – and now we see it resurrected, what a shame.
I don’t remember whether I saw that movie though of course I’ve seen all the later ones by Wilder, really great.
Wolf, Wilder is one of the great Hollywood directors.
On ever noir buffs Mount Rushmore list, or ought to be. Certainly on mine. Next time Eddie Muller shows it on TCM’s Noir Alley it’s very much worth watching for his extensive commentary about the Wilder-Chandler working relationship. By now everybody knows about Chandler’s cameo appearance in DI, but it was a choice trivia tidbit decades ago when Don Herron first spotted it (at Lessercon a couple of years ago Kevin Burton Smith was excited about just learning that there was a porno version of DI, also old news here).
Art, I enjoy the story that Wilder was miffed at Chandler for not including more dialogue straight out of James M. Cain’s book. Chandler protested that it wouldn’t work. Wilder got a couple of actors to recite the lines he was considering for his movie and discovered…Chandler was right!
What’s this about a porno Double Indemnity? I’ve never heard of it, but then I’ve lived a morally spotless existence.
Bob, you’ll have to ask Art Scott about it. I’m as clueless as you are.