Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)
by Billy Wilder
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Barbara Stanwyck, Byron Barr, Edward G. Robinson, Fred MacMurray, Porter HallDirector: Billy Wilder
Brand: NBC Universal
Cinematographer: John F. Seitz
Writer: Billy Wilder
Producer: Buddy G. DeSylva
Producer: Joseph Sistrom
Writer: James M. Cain
Writer: Raymond Chandler
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Special Edition
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)
Movie Review: I think you're swell... so long as I'm not your husband.
Summary: 5 Stars
At long last, and after an absence of many years, the greatest of the Noirs is available again on the shiny disc format!!! This extraordinary film certainly wasn't the first Film Noir, and it wasn't the last, but whenever I'm asked to describe or define Noir, I always say, "Just watch "Double Indemnity," then you'll know!"
The story revolves around three main characters; "Phyllis Dietrichson," a treacherous ice-maiden, looking for a way to get out of a loveless marriage, played by Barbara Stanwyk, "Walter Neff," a happy-go-lucky insurance salesman snared by Phyllis to help in her scheme, played by Fred MacMurray, and finally their nemesis, "Barton Keyes," Walter's colleague who investigates crooked insurance claims, and just as importantly, his friend, played by Edward G. Robinson.
Set in 1938, we know from the outset that Neff is doomed as the story is told in flashback; Walter recounts his tale to one of those new-fangled dictating machines in Keyes' office, while a bullet hole in his left shoulder slowly drains the life from him. He's not, intrinsically, a bad man, far from it, but is brought low by his base desires for a monster in Human form; a fall of almost Biblical proportions! (In fact I have a feeling that if Phyllis Dietrichson had been in the Garden of Eden she would have seduced the Devil for a bigger apple, or maybe a second tree!)
One of the real joys of the film is the dialogue; written by director Billy Wilder, and Raymond "The Big Sleep" Chandler, it's hard-boiled in the extreme, delivered in machine-gun bursts that fairly crackle off the screen. Consider this exchange towards the end of their first meeting; Walter has stopped at the house on the off chance of meeting Mr Dietrichson and renewing some auto-insurance, and has been flirting almost non-stop with Phyllis whilst delivering his insurance sales-patter...
Phyllis: There's a speed limit in this state Mr. Neff. Forty-five miles an hour.
Walter: How fast was I going officer?
Phyllis: I'd say around ninety.
Walter: Suppose you get down off your motorcycle and give me a ticket.
Phyllis: Suppose I let you off with a warning this time.
Walter: Suppose it doesn't take.
Phyllis: Suppose I have to whack you over the knuckles.
Walter: Suppose I bust out crying and put my head on your shoulder.
Phyllis: Suppose you try putting it on my husband's shoulder.
Walter: That tears it! (He laughs and heads for the door.)
The sexual chemistry between the two stars practically oozes off the screen, and the above scene is a wonderful example, just one of many.
The casting is perfection, but strangely enough, none of the three leads actually wanted to take the parts when they were offered, and all had to be talked into them by Billy Wilder; all I can say is thank God for Billy's undoubted eloquence!!! Fred MacMurray was an inspired choice to play Walter Neff, and trades on his well-known comedic "everyman" persona to give us a desperately flawed character, utterly believable in the way he is seduced by the cold and calculating Phyllis. Edward G. Robinson is excellent as Barton Keyes, a cigar-chomping blusterer, who's gruff exterior hides a razor sharp mind and a, "Heart as big as a house." But the film belongs, from first frame to last, to Barbara Stanwyk as Phyllis Dietrichson, the Femme Fatale from Hell. Her performance is pure gold and defines the archetype; cold, heartless, ruthless, utterly selfish and self-absorbed, rotten to the core and blatantly using her sexuality to ensnare the hapless Walter in her murderous web of lies and deceit.
There's a scene early on in the film set in Walter's apartment; Phyllis has turned up in the middle of the night on the pretext of returning his hat, but knows that Walter is teetering on the edge of the precipice, he's just one small step away from joining her in murdering her husband. For a moment it looks as if Walter is going to summon up the moral fortitude to push her away, let her walk out of the door and out of his life forever. As she brushes past him to get her coat there's a fleeting look of panic that passes over her face, she knows that THIS is IT, but she still doesn't know what Walter's decision will be, and even though WE know the answer the scene is still incredibly tense; a wonderful performance by Stanwyk!
Another element of the film that is often commented on is the lighting; the cinematography is astounding! The camera angles, and the use of light, shadow, and absolute pitch darkness is exemplary, in fact the light almost becomes a character in and of itself! There's so much darkness in some of the scenes - of both the literal and figurative varieties! - that the characters can sometimes only be seen by their outlines; see the above scenes in Walter's apartment for a superb example.
As I said at the beginning of this review, in my opinion this is an absolutely extraordinary film, I've watched it through twice since buying it at the weekend, and I can honestly say I can't fault it! The casting, the performances, the story, the dialogue, the direction and cinematography is flawless; this is a Masterclass in film making, and not just Noir!
I'm often asked what my favorite film is, and I usually go for the easy answer; "2001 a Space Odyssey," the original "Planet of the Apes," Orson Wells' "Touch of Evil," or perhaps the original "Get Carter." But every time I watch Phyllis and Walter spiral inexorably towards their mutual destruction I fall in love with "Double Indemnity" all over again in a way that I never do with any other film, and right now... "I'm in love baby, I'm in love but good!"
Summary of Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)
Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray star in this gripping film noir from Academy Award-winning director Billy Wilder. A calculating wife encourages her wealthy husband to sign a double indemnity policy proposed by smitten insurance agent Walter Neff. As the would-be lovers plot the unsuspecting husband's murder, they are pursued by a suspicious claims manager (Edward G. Robinson). It's a race against time to get away with the perfect crime in this heart-racing Academy Award-nominated masterpiece. Starring: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Porter Hall, Jean Heather, Tom Powers, Byron Barr, Richard Gaines, Fortunio Bonanova, John Philliber Directed by: Billy WilderDirector Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard) and writer Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep) adapted James M. Cain's hard-boiled novel into this wildly thrilling story of insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), who schemes the perfect murder with the beautiful dame Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck): kill Dietrichson's husband and make off with the insurance money. But, of course, in these plots things never quite go as planned, and Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) is the wily insurance investigator who must sort things out. From the opening scene you know Neff is doomed, as the story is told in flashback; yet, to the film's credit, this doesn't diminish any of the tension of the movie. This early film noir flick is wonderfully campy by today's standards, and the dialogue is snappy ("I thought you were smarter than the rest, Walter. But I was wrong. You're not smarter, just a little taller"), filled with lots of "dame"s and "baby"s. Stanwyck is the ultimate femme fatale, and MacMurray, despite a career largely defined by roles as a softy (notably in the TV series My Three Sons and the movie The Shaggy Dog), is convincingly cast against type as the hapless, love-struck sap. --Jenny Brown
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