Double Indemnity (1944)

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

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder (screenplay), Raymond Chandler (screenplay),

Stars:

Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson

Top 250 #57 | Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

In 1938, Walter Neff, an experienced salesman of the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co., meets the seductive wife of one of his clients, Phyllis Dietrichson, and they have an affair. Phyllis proposes to kill her husband to receive the proceeds of an accident insurance policy and Walter devises a scheme to receive twice the amount based on a double indemnity clause. When Mr. Dietrichson is found dead on a train-track, the police accept the determination of accidental death. However, the insurance analyst and Walter's best friend Barton Keyes does not buy the story and suspects that Phyllis has murdered her husband with the help of another man.

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Plot Keywords:

insurance | double indemnity | insurance investigator | murder | insurance policy | 

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Taglines:

From the Moment they met it was Murder!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [uk]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 April 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frau ohne Gewissen

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$927,262 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 90 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alan Ladd was one of the top actors who was up for the leading role of Walter Neff but evidently turned down the role.

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Goofs

Early in the film, as Phyllis finds Walter's address in the phone book and goes to his apartment, Neff turns on a three-way lamp by the door using a switch on the wall. Later in the film, the lamp is gone.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in Throw Momma from the Train (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Tangerine"
(1941) (uncredited)
Music by Victor Schertzinger
Played on a radio

User Reviews

An all-time Hollywood classic

This film noir classic may be the best murder mystery of all time in this storied Hollywood genre. Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson are excellent but it is Barbara Stanwyck who really makes the picture come together as a woman without a moral compass. Stanwyck set the standard for tough, calculating, shady women who exploit men without shame or remorse and her masterful manipulation of MacMurray is the movie's central theme. The film's imagery is filled with shadows and low lighting, accompanied by a tense, brooding music score. Stanwyck spins her web of ensnarement like a black widow with her victim seemingly unaware of the danger that enfolds him. MacMurray provides the narrative of the film which is told in flashback and delivers a cryptic account of the events in a confession to a boss who trusted him completely. Robinson is on target as the skeptical and suspicious boss who has a sixth sense about phony insurance claims. A nice supporting cast contributes to this thriller, namely Richard Gaines and Porter Hall.