Double Indemnity (1944)

An insurance representative lets himself be talked by a seductive housewife into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses the suspicion of an insurance investigator.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder (screenplay), Raymond Chandler (screenplay)

Stars:

Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson

Top Rated Movies #119 | Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

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	...	Mr. Norton
Fortunio Bonanova	...	Sam Gorlopis
John Philliber	...	Joe Pete

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

insurance investigation | murder disguised as accident | insurance | insurance policy | insurance salesman | 

---

Taglines:

IT'S LOVE AND MURDER AT FIRST SIGHT! (print ad - Lubbock Morning Avalanche - Lindsey Theatre - Lubbock, Texas - September 1, 1944 - all caps)

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

The notable Broadway actor Tom Powers was invited to Hollywood for the role of Mr. Dietrichson. It was Powers' first film role since 1917 and his start to a "second film career" with many supporting roles until his death in 1955.

---

Goofs

When Dietrichson's body is discovered on the tracks, and presumed to be the victim of an accident, his body would have been taken to the medical examiner's office for identification and autopsy. It might be thought how this would quickly reveal that he had been strangled, and had not fallen from the train due to the absence of bruises on the body - except Neff did not strangle Dietrichson in the car (he snapped the man's neck); and bruises on the body are possible but not guaranteed with such a small fall at low speed with the prime impact taken by the back of the man's neck.

---

Quotes

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

---

Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown over a silhouette of a man on crutches, walking toward the camera.

---

Connections

Referenced in All-Star Party for Clint Eastwood (1986)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

best American Film Noir ever made

"I liked the way that anklet bit into her leg. I wanted to see her again, up close, without that silly staircase between us."--Walter Neff, after meeting Phyllis Dietrichson This is Fred MacMurray like you've never seen him before. He's edgy and sharp, and amoral, although he hides it well from his boss. Barbara Stanwyck's astounding performance set the standard for bad girls in Film Noir for years to come. I love this film because it is a perfect example of how the censorship of the time made it so that filmmakers had to get the sexiness across in a subtle way. This movie is undeniably sexy, and there's not a single 'love scene' in it!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [UK]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 July 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

Double Indemnity

Filming Locations:

Bryson Apartments, 2701 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$927,262 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,886

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