Double Indemnity (1973)

A scheming wife lures an insurance investigator into helping murder her husband and then declare it an accident. The investigator's boss, not knowing his man is involved in it, suspects murder and sets out to prove it.

Director:

Jack Smight

Writers:

Steven Bochco (teleplay), Billy Wilder

Stars:

Richard Crenna, Lee J. Cobb, Robert Webber

Cast

Cast overview:
Richard Crenna	...	Walter Neff
Lee J. Cobb	...	Barton Keyes
Robert Webber	...	Edward Norton
Samantha Eggar	...	Phyllis Dietrichson
Arch Johnson	...	Mr. Dietrichson
Kathleen Cody	...	Lola Dietrichson
John Fiedler	...	Mr. Jackson
John Elerick	...	Donny Franklin
Joan Pringle	...	Neff's Secretary
Gene Dynarski	...	Sam Bonaventura
Ken Renard	...	Porter
Joyce Cunning	...	Norton's Secretary
Arnold F. Turner	...	Redcap (as Arnold Turner)

Storyline

A scheming wife lures an insurance investigator into helping murder her husband and then declare it an accident. The investigator's boss, not knowing he's involved in it, suspects murder and sets out to solve it.

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Plot Keywords:

french kiss | kissing a married woman | murder plot | using sex appeal as motivator | late night | 

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Taglines:

"A murder's never perfect. It always comes apart sooner or later. And when two people are involved it's usually sooner..."

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is included in the Canadian DVD version of the original 1944 film, Double Indemnity.

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Connections

Version of Lux Video Theatre: Double Indemnity (1954)

User Reviews

A honeysuckle-scented murder plot...squeezed into a TV movie-of-the-week

Los Angeles insurance salesman in his late 30s is seduced by the wife of one of his clients, who gives him the idea of taking out an accident insurance policy on her husband without his knowledge. If he's killed, the wife receives $200,000--if he's killed on a train, the amount is doubled. Writer Steven Bochco had the daunting task of compressing James M. Cain's crime novel into a 75-minute movie for television. Bochco must have known how unnecessary the whole idea was, especially since no amount of effort could even hope to get the project out from the shadow of Billy Wilder's classic 1944 version. The three leads (Richard Crenna and Samantha Eggar as the illicit lovers, Lee J. Cobb as Crenna's boss) go through the motions dutifully, but nothing here feels fresh.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Double Indemnity

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Groverton Productions, Universal Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1