Double Indemnity

Two creative giants, Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder, teamed up to create the daddy of all film noirs in Double Indemnity. Barbara Stanwyck and Fred McMurray were cast against type to play the scheming star-crossed lovers in this dark and twisty tale of murder, suspicion and insurance. Stanwyck had previously only really played 'good girl' roles and was hesitant to take on a trashy femme fatale character, whereas McMurray had made his name in light comedy and didn't feel confident that audiences would be able to take him seriously. The film remains the quintessential example of film noir today, frequently cited in 'best films of all time' lists by a variety of critics, film fans and IMDB.



Walter (McMurray) is an insurance salesman. He's this regular guy who gets pulled into a web of intrigue and used after making one single, flawed decision. This decision (as is typical for film noir) represents a transgression of morality, being his choice to pursue an affair with a married woman, Mrs. Dietrichson (Stanwyck). Mrs. Dietrichson is the film's femme fatale, a dangerous and mysterious figure who attracts the audience's distrust whilst simultaneously attracting Walter. The third major character is Keats (Edward G. Robinson), Walter's sharp but good-natured boss. In a way, Keats represents society itself, a friend who will be forced to give Walter up to the law if or when he learns of his involvement in a murder. Keats is Edward G. Robinson's earliest supporting role... he plays the problem-sol ver with a high degree of intellectualism and charisma; a role closer to the real life Robinson than any of his more famous gangster roles.



Keats frequently talks about the 'little man' inside him, a concept that relates to instinct. It's also actually shorthand for the idea of conscience - he's the film's moral compass, which links into Keats' role as a symbol of society. Film noir plots almost always concern events spiralling out of control, and Double Indemnity is no different, with themes relating to parasnoia, conscience and the inevitability of punishment. The quote at the top of this review relates to the sense of inevitability inherent in film noir. It's often one of the genre's rules that events should spin off horribly from one bad mistake or one unstoppable piece of bad luck. In this case it involves the introduction of certain complications that arise while the characters try to carry out their perfect murder - such as a man on the back of a train who shouldn't be there, a car that won't start, a co-worker's kernel of suspicion, etc. All these things come from the central starting point of any film noir worth its salt - one character's transgression of morality and the price they pay for it.





Wilder and Chandler make use of several useful techniques to reinforce their story. The most important is that the tale is told in flashback, allowing for a defeated voiceover that sets an ominous tone of foreboding. The dialogue itself is also full of double entendres and metaphors, signalling that for these characters nothing is as it seems. The opening sequence also introduces Walter from behind, the camera following his back for a while before finally revealing him in long shot - a technique that establishes him as a man with something to hide. This can be taken both literally in the context of the scene (he's hiding a gunshot wound) and metaphorically in the context of the film (the camera is positioned in a way that keeps him hidden from the audience).



A level of depth (or layering) is suggested by starkly silhouettic cinematography and a dark, stirring string score, and - finally - the entire film is rammed full of foreshadowing to further support the ominous tone. This includes the delayed kind of foreshadowing, such as the menacing shadow of a man on crutches moving towards the camera during the opening credits, and the immediate kind, such as Walter talking about an anklet on Mrs. Dietrichson's leg before the camera cuts to her descending the stairs and drawing our attention to said jewellery.



Double Indemnity was controversial and acclaimed at the time of its release because it broke new ground regarding the anatomy of a murder, examining such a crime in previously unmatched detail. This was only made possible by making certain creative decisions in accordance to the then-active Hays Code. The Hays Code stated that no bad deed in a film could go unpunished, so this forced the development of the film noir genre - a response to this stifling environment that made use of a specific set of rulres and tropes to explore crime and its consequences. It's highly unlikely that film noir could've happened without this heavy degree of censorship, so Double Indemnity is very much a product of its time. It could never be made today (even if the Hays Code was still active) due to the rise of forensics, so if you watch it, settle yourself in for a historically-grounded and incredibly tense ride.



DIRECTOR: Billy Wilder

WRITER/SOURCE: Raymond Chandler. Based on a book by James M. Cain (which was based on real events in the 1920s).

KEY ACTORS: Fred McMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Porter Hall, Jean Heather, Tom Powers



RELATED TEXTS:

- Double Indemnity, a pulp crime novel by James M. Cain that started out as a magazine serial in 1943.

- The Postman Always Rings Twice, a 1940s film noir also based on a James M. Cain novel.

- Double Indemnity, 1970s television remake starring Richard Crenna and Samantha Egger.

- The 1990s film noir spoof Fatal Instinct parodies parts of Double Indemnity.

- Billy Wilder returned to similar territory more than a decade later with Witness For ther Prosecution.

- For more early film noirs, see: The Woman in the Window, Stranger on the Third Floor, Out of the Past, The Maltese Falcon, The Killers, Gilda and Laura.



AWARDS

Academy Awards - nominated for Best Film, Best Actress (Barbara Stanwyck), Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Music and Best Screenplay.