Rating: 
Summary: "I never knew that murder could smell like Honeysuckle."
Review: There are several titles that always come to mind when discussing Film Noir, and "Double Indemnity" is one of those great titles. It's the story of insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) who knocks on the door of sultry Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) one fateful afternoon. Excellent performances make this film very watchable, and the three main characters--Neff, the salesman, Phyllis, the lonely housewife, and Barton Keyes (Edward G Robinson) as the investigator are all fascinating. I'm used to seeing Fred MacMurray in 'nice' roles, but here as salesman, Neff, well, he's just a little bit shady. There are some great scenes as he explains that working for an insurance company inevitably gives him ideas about scamming the company. When Neff first meets Phyllis, sparks fly, and Neff crosses over the line with his blatant, suggestive flirting. He's met his match in Phyllis--and there's far more to her than meets the eye--she's rotten through and through. Phyllis delivers all the usual whining to Neff about her nasty, old boring husband, but then when Mr. Dietrichson makes an appearance, the absurdity of the marriage is blatantly apparent. Mr. Dietrichson is a grumpy, cheap complainer who stands in the way of Neff's romance with the luscious Phyllis, and so the lovers plot to murder the husband and collect on a double indemnity life insurance policy at the same time. Barton Keyes is the moral barometer for this film--he possesses intuition about insurance claims, and just like a dog with a bone, he won't let the case go until he's found all the answers. If you are interested in Film Noir, then I recommend watching this classic. It's really an entertaining film--displacedhuman
Rating:
Summary: One of the very best film noir
Review: This is a terrific movie, beautifully directed by Billy Wilder, one of his better films, and he made some very good ones. Sunset Boulevard (1950); Stalag 17 (1953); Some Like It Hot (1959); The Apartment (1960) come to mind. Note the range: a psychological mystery, a prisoners of war movie, a comedy with song and dance, and a "sophisticated" comedy. He could make any kind of film. He had a knack for getting the best out of the players and he never forgot his audience. Double Indemnity is no exception. Fred MacMurray stars as Walter Neff, a morally-compromised insurance salesman who just couldn't resist the opportunity to outsmart the insurance business, and he was never better. Most people remember him from more light-hearted fare, e.g., The Shaggy Dog (1959); The Absent-Minded Professor (1961); and perhaps especially The Egg and I (1947) with Claudette Colbert. Barbara Stanwyck, whose career spanned six decades, was also excellent as the sociopathic Phyllis Dietrickson. Edward G. Robinson, who practically defined the Hollywood gangster from the thirties and forties, switches type and does an outstanding job as Barton Keyes, a sleuthful insurance claims manager. The script was adapted from James M. Cain's second novel, a follow-up to his enormously successful The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934). That too was made into a movie, in fact two movies, but neither one was anywhere near as good as this classic film noir. Wilder employs the convention of the voice-over (something he would use again very successfully in Sunset Boulevard) by having Walter Neff ("Walter Huff" in the novel) tell the story into a Dictaphone as a confessional memo addressed to his admired pal and mentor Keyes. He didn't get the girl and he didn't get the money, he says. Strange but we can see he didn't really want the girl or the money. What he wanted was the admiration of Keyes. At any rate that's the way Wilder played it, and it worked big time. If you read the book you'll discover that Wilder (along with Raymond Chandler, who co-wrote the script) changed a number of things from the way Cain had them, especially the ending--all to the better. In fact the movie is significantly better than the novel, which isn't usually the case. One of the things I was thinking while watching this was that it was actually as "perfect" a murder scheme as you'll see on the silver screen, although everything had to go just right. There was only one flaw, as Wilder saw it. He has Edward G. Robinson express it something like this: When a man buys an accidental death insurance policy and then dies an accidental death a few short weeks later, it ain't no accident. Don't miss this one, one of the all-time best film noir and a jewel in the crown of Billy Wilder, one of filmland's greatest directors. Would that we had another like him.
Rating:
Summary: A 4 Way Classic!
Review: It seems safe to offer the opinion that "Double Indemnity" is a 4-Way Classic! The 4 categories would be noir movies, those directed by Billy Wilder, films that unfold in flashback and pictures shot in beautiful black and white. Granted that DI might not represent the cream of each of those species, but it is highly representative of the best they can put on the silver screen. DI opens with Fred MacMurray, obviously in need of medical attention, making a confession into an office Dictaphone. DI flashes back from there. Even though the viewer senses that MacMurray is deep in trouble, the suspense actually builds! How did he get himself in such a fix?? It quickly develops that he is an insurance salesman caught in a scam of his own making. His partner in crime has to be female. (This is noir!). Barbara Stanwyck, - an unfaithful wife and wicked stepmother -plays that dual role to the hilt. This reviewer does not agree with my amazon friends who feel she is sexy! Any man should run from this evil woman! She has TROUBLE stamped all over her! Under the guise of renewing her husband's car insurance, Macmurray sells the spouse a life insurance policy with Stanwyck as the beneficiary. The two then plot his death! One weak point to DI is that Macmurray immediately pins the wife as a con artist yet still agrees to the scheme. They set up the poor guy's demise as a fall from the rear observation platform of a moving passenger train. (It was probably the Southern Pacific's old "Coast Starlight" when trains actually had observation platforms. That old SP drumhead is a wonderful touch!).This reviewer won't divulge the details of that crucial event but the manner of staged death is very sloppy indeed! That is a second and critical weak point! Any self -respecting insurance company would pounce on this contrivance. Surely-albeit slowly- that is exactly what transpires. The insurance claims manager is Edward G. Robinson, who like Stanwyck, plays the role masterfully as he wises up to the fraud dumped on his desk. This reviewer cannot remember Mr. Robinson playing any role in any movie to less than perfection. Viewers should closely watch the cigar/cigarette lighting banter between the leads! That little man inside the avuncular Robinson suspects, as the viewers already know, that something is fishy. He dares Stanwyck to actually collect! At this point MacMurray, for less than altruistic reasons, "befriends" the stepdaughter only to fathom the type of fiend that Stanwyck truly is. Who would know better than a stepchild! MacMurray's subsequent decision to "take action" against Stanwyck leads to the film's climax, which this reviewer won't reveal! It certainly closes the circle! MacMurray's late gratuitous efforts to reunite the stepdaughter with her boyfriend mark him as a good guy, the perfect noir foil for the wicked Stanwyck. It also seals his fate when he could have dashed for the Mexican border! According to Silver and Ward's "Film Noir", the original fadeout was shot with MacMurray in the gas chamber. It's safe to bet most viewers will believe that the eventual ending fits the plot more appropriately. DI was nominated for 4 Oscars: Best Movie, Director, Screenplay and Actress. It lost the first 3 to "Going My Way" as the U.S. tried to feel good during WW2. Stanwyck lost the final category to Ingrid Bergman's role in "Gaslight"- a vastly more sympathetic part to say the least! DI would have fared better in peacetime! The bottom line is the headline: This is a 4 Way Hollywood classic with something to interest virtually any classic movie lover. A final thought: Isn't it interesting that not a single police officer or detective appears in DI?
Rating:
Summary: Rapping His Knuckles
Review: It's hard to know where to begin praising Double Indemnity. I always appreciate smart dialogue, and this film is full of it courtesy of Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler. The exchanges between Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray are classic. But the script is also well constructed, using an effective shift between present and past as well as MacMurray's voice over to move the winding plot along. Then there are the actors. Stanwyck, such a versatile actress, easily gives one of her best performances as Phyllis, the woman who lures an insurance salesman into a scheme of murder and greed. As the salesman Walter, MacMurray is surprisingly good in a role unlike the usual "likeable guy" he played. He should have played more shady characters in his film career. Edward G. Robinson delivers a fun performance as MacMurray's friend and insurance claim inspector. Billy Wilder's intelligent direction uses all of the elements of film noir and puts them together in one of the best examples of the genre. Phyllis and Walter may not be the most likeable people, but it is fascinating to watch them lead each other into trouble. Fans of classic films, film noir, the director, or any of the actors should make sure to add this film to their viewing list.
Rating:
Summary: The height of "film noir"
Review: An insurance salesman falls for a seductive "femme fatale" and they hatch a plan to murder her husband, while making it look like an accident, so that they may collect on his life insurance, which has a substantial "double indemnity" clause attached. Every aspect of this pioneering "film noir" is perfect, in its seedy, monochrome portrayal of L.A. in the forties. Cinematograpahy, music, editing and direction are of the highest standard. Scripting is superior (credit goes to Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler) and the dialogue bristles with innuendo, wit and extremely eloquent exchanges, though it may seem campy by today's standards. The performances of Barbara Sranwyck as the adulteress and Fred MacMurray (a light actor who nevertheless provides a powerful contribution as her love-struck tool) are superb. Also memorable is Edward G. Robinson as the insurance investigator who evebtually foils the greedy plot of the illicit lovers. An air of existential loss and desperation is suggested by the film, in its depiction of a twilight of morality in the years of the war. The hero/villain dichotomy is abolished, as the main characters nonetheless elicit our sympathy, despite being racked by a dangerous but a true surfeit of social and sexual hungerings.
Rating:
Summary: "It's a one way trip and the last stop is the cemetery."
Review: Great stuff. One of the greatest movies ever made. The obvious reason is Billy Wilder, the genius of film noir '40's. And the other reason? The writer is the grandaddy of them all, Raymond Chandler. How could they go wrong? The insurance salesman, Fred Macmurray (Walter Neff), meets the sultry Barbara Stanwick (Phyllis Dietrichsen)and they get intensely involved. Eventually, Fred Macmurray's insurance acumen as Walter Neff hatches a plan to kill sultry Phyllis' (Stanwick) husband with both to collect the double indemnity policy upon which the title is based. This movie is great because it sizzles in a manner respecting the impediments of censorship of the first half of the twentieth century. So the affair is underplayed not like the subsequent "Body Heat" thirty years later when mores and actors and clothes loosened. But here the relentlessness of insurance investigator Barton Keyes, the sexuality of Phyllis and Walter, the mean spiritedness and hidden agenda of Phyllis, is all understated in the tradition of the '40's and '50's. But to the credit of the actors, the director and the writer, no less intense. Great stuff. Billy Wilder; Raymond Chandler; and all the usual suspects. Larry Scantlebury. 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: "I never knew that murder could smell like Honeysuckle."
Review: There are several titles that always come to mind when discussing Film Noir, and "Double Indemnity" is one of those great titles. It's the story of insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) who knocks on the door of sultry Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) one fateful afternoon. Excellent performances make this film very watchable, and the three main characters--Neff, the salesman, Phyllis, the lonely housewife, and Barton Keyes (Edward G Robinson) as the investigator are all fascinating. I'm used to seeing Fred MacMurray in 'nice' roles, but here as salesman, Neff, well, he's just a little bit shady. There are some great scenes as he explains that working for an insurance company inevitably gives him ideas about scamming the company. When Neff first meets Phyllis, sparks fly, and Neff crosses over the line with his blatant, suggestive flirting. He's met his match in Phyllis--and there's far more to her than meets the eye--she's rotten through and through. Phyllis delivers all the usual whining to Neff about her nasty, old boring husband, but then when Mr. Dietrichson makes an appearance, the absurdity of the marriage is blatantly apparent. Mr. Dietrichson is a grumpy, cheap complainer who stands in the way of Neff's romance with the luscious Phyllis, and so the lovers plot to murder the husband and collect on a double indemnity life insurance policy at the same time. Barton Keyes is the moral barometer for this film--he possesses intuition about insurance claims, and just like a dog with a bone, he won't let the case go until he's found all the answers. If you are interested in Film Noir, then I recommend watching this classic. It's really an entertaining film--displacedhuman
Rating:
Summary: AFI's Great Love Stories: #84 Double Indemnity
Review: "Double Indemnity" was the 1944 film noir classic from director Billy Wilder that finally explained how insurance worked to millions of Americans. For those who fondly remember Fred MacMurray from "My Three Sons" on TV and all those Disney movies, seeing him play Walter Neff, being bent around the little finger of Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck, as one of the all time great psycho-babes) is a bit of a shock. Throw into the mix the fact that Edward R. Robinson plays the "good" guy in the story and no wonder audiences feel they have stepped through the looking glass. The story is simple. Neff is a smooth talking insurance salesman who more than meets his match in the seductive Mrs. Dietrichson. Neff just wants to renew her husband's automobile insurance, but the sparks between them are too much to ignore and the next thing he knows not only is he having an affair, but the have come up a plan to murder her husband (Tom Powers) for his life insurance money. Even better, the policy has a double indemnity clause. But the course of true love never goes smoothly, especially when you throw murder into the mix. "Double Idemnity" was remade for television in 1973 with Richard Crenna, Samantha Eggar and Lee J. Cobb, which was actually an above average remake as such things go. However, the original has a gritty feel that has to be experienced. Be warned: you will never want to buy insurance ever again. Great Film Noir Lines: (1) "I never knew that murder could smell like honeysuckle"; (2) "They've commited a murder and it's not like taking a trolly ride together where they can get off at different stops. They're stuck with each other and they've got to ride all the way to the end of the line and it's a one-way trip and the last stop is the cemetery"; (3) "Suddenly it came over me that everything would go wrong. It sounds crazy, Keyes, but it's true, so help me. I couldn't hear my own footsteps. It was the walk of a dead man." Why are these lines so great? Well, take a novel by James M. Cain and then have director Billy Wilder and author Raymond Chandler do the script. If you like "Double Indemnity" then check out these other films on AFI's list of 100 Greatest Love stories: #49 "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946 version) and #94 "Body Heat" (like the inverse on the ranks there?). Why? Because they are also stories in which a guy falls for a dame so hard he is willing to kill for her.
Rating:
Summary: Barbara Stanwyck glitters in this classic dark mystery
Review: Quintessential film noir story that set the standard for femme fatales, shady women who exploit men's weaknesses and then discard them like nylons that have too many runs in them. Of course, a man has to be willing and gullible enough to desire a woman to do most anything to have her. Phyllis Dietrichson's masterful manipulation of Walter Neff is the central theme of this film. When Neff [Fred MacMurray] and Dietrichson [Barbara Stanwyck] find that they have a clear path to a rosy and wonderful future together, they discover that everything seems to go wrong and every attempt at conversation leads to snarling exchanges, doubts and suspicions about each other. Barton Keyes [Edward G. Robinson] provides just the right balance and unwittingly unnerves Neff with his suspicions and ideas about false claims for insurance money and how his gut feelings never fail him. Keyes smells a rat but his faith and trust in Neff never wavers until later. Porter Hall has a nice turn as the man from Medford, Oregon who materializes from the shadows to add another twist to this excellent thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Double Indemnity
Review: An insurance agent goes to the house of a policy holder and meets the man's sexy wife. Together they plot the murder of her husband. Film Noir at it's best!! Great performances by Fred MacMurry, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson as the insurance fraud investigator!
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