BASED
ON THE NOVEL DOUBLE INDEMNITY AND THREE OF A KIND WRITTEN
BY JAMES M.CAIN
SCREENPLAY
BY RAYMOND CHANDLER & BILLY WILDER
DIRECTED
BY BILLY WILDER
GENRE:CRIME/FILM-NOIR/THRILLER
RATED:AUSTRALIA:PG/UK:PG/USA:APPROVED
RUNNING
TIME:107 MIN
Billy
Wilder's Double Indemnity begins with a walking wounded insurance
salesman named Walter confessing to a murder. Walter is played by
Fred MacMurray with all of the smoothness he could muster, lighting
matches with a click of his thumb whilst dispensing with the vintage
noir lingo like it was a second language.
His confession provides narration throughout the film, as he tells
of how he was coerced by the seductive wife of a client (Barbara Stankwyck)
to kill her husband and pocket his life insurance. Stankwyck hits
the femme fatale role right out of the ballpark with a performance
that will have men's tongues waggling as well as invoke chills. The
sexual energy between MacMurray and Stankwyck is palpable.
After doing the deed and putting their plan in action all seems to
be smooth sailing, until top notch claims investigator Keyes (a ferocious,
scene stealing Edward G. Robinson) figures out the what and the how,
and slowly closes in on the who. To make matters worse a crisis of
conscious hits Walter which forces him to make things right.
With Double Indemnity, Wilder has weaved a sterling film-noir
that does not contain a false step in story or pacing. On top of being
a stylish and well acted film, it is also quite a clever one filled
with finely tuned twists and fleshed out characters.
It is also quite a dark film for its time, with its subject matter
as pitch black as the darkness that fills the frame, courtesy of some
wonderful black and white photography by John F. Seitz. Milos Rosza
also deserves praise for his superb score.
Engrossing and thrilling stuff, this is a staple of the film-noir
genre.
