Rating: 
Summary: "I love you, too."
Review: Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) is an insurance man for Pacific All Risk. When he goes to renew automobile insurance for Mr. Dietrichson (Tom Powers), he is met by Dietrichson's wife, Phyllis (Barbara Stanwyck). Almost immediately, Neff becomes drawn to Phyllis and is convinced by her to plan the murder of Mr. Dietrichson to collect insurance. The murder goes off fine and it looks as though the two will get double on the insurance due to a double indemnity clause. But Claims Manager Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) suspects foul play. To avoid raising suspicions, Walter and Phyllis stop seeing each other and start drifting further apart (Walter also starts seeing Phyllis' stepdaughter Lola (Jean Heather) to keep her from giving out information she knows). Soon, Walter and Phyllis are plotting against one another. Whenever I think of "Double Indemnity", the line I most remember is one said by Keyes to Walter: "You're not smarter Walter, you're just a little taller". Modify this line and it could apply to all three leads. Neff thinks that he's a smart insurance man, the best at the office. But one look at Phyllis Dietrichson and he's taken over by her. Basically, he's weak, allowing feelings to get in the way of intelligence. Phyllis, however, makes a mistake also. Through most of the movie, Walter loves her and she doesn't care for him, using him only as a pawn to kill her husband. But at the end, she loses her nerve and confesses her love, while he's calm and collected (This is after the crime has been done, however). Barton Keyes also makes a mistake: Though he is a very smart claims man and practically breaks the case, he can't figure out that Walter was Phyllis' accomplice when her husband was killed. He thinks it was another kid, Lola's boyfriend Nino Zachetti. Having known Neff for eleven years, Keyes puts too much trust in him and can't see through him. Amazingly, though their roles in here are among the best of their respective careers, neither of the three leads were eager to jump in. For MacMurray and Stanwyck, it was a problem of going against character. "I'm a saxophone player; I do little comedies with Carole Lombard," remarked MacMurray to Director Billy Wilder. Eventually, though, he was talked into doing it. He later called the role his favorite. And although her track record included playing heavy characters, Barbara Stanwyck had yet to do a cold hearted, unsentimental, murderous slut. When she told Wilder her concerns, he replied "Are you mouse or actress?" It was enough to cast her in what has become a trademark role. As for Robinson, the problem was not so much his character, but his role. Though still a strong lead, he was third billed. But, he later said (In a quote from the IMDB), "Emanuel Goldenberg (His real life name) told me that at my age it was time to begin thinking of character roles, to slide into middle and old age with the same grace as that marvelous actor, Lewis Stone... The decision made itself... It remains one of my favorites." "Indemnity", I think, is one of the definitive film noirs for two reasons: Its style and its plot. In here, the movie has a dark, stylish look to it. Take the Dietrichson home: Cinematographer John Seitz creates a light filtered, musty look, through the use of silver dust mixed with smoke in the air and low-key lighting. Stanwyck puts it best, in an interview done 40 years later: "That gloomy, horrible house the Dietrichsons lived in, the slit of sunlight slicing through those heavy drapes - you could smell that death was in the air, you understood why she wanted to get out of there, away, no matter how." She added, "And for an actress, let me tell you the way those sets were lit, the house, Walter's apartment, those dark shadows, those slices of harsh light at strange angles - all that helped my performance. The way Billy staged it and John Seitz lit it, it was all one sensational mood." The plot also became a common formula in noirs: A luckless, weakhearted man falls passionately in love with a woman who wants him to kill her husband or some other relative. This plot has been replicated, in part, in later films like "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (Both versions) and "Body Heat". I believe that one amazon reviewer compared Walter and Phyllis's romance to oil and water. He missed the point. Until the end, they really don't love one another. They love the $50,000 and love more the $100,000 with double indemnity. Their partnership is one of common interest. It's similar to that of the U.S and Russia in World War II: Neither country liked one another before or after, but they united because they had a common enemy in Germany. I would also like to answer this question, which was put up by Roger Ebert in his "Great Movies" review: Why does Walter return to Keyes' office when he has a chance to escape? It sounds foolish. But lets look at the whole picture: Walter feels guilt for what he has done to two people: Nino and Keyes. Keyes now thinks that Nino was the accomplice to Phyllis, while Walter deceived Keyes, who is really his own friend in the movie. By stating his confession, he clears Nino of any involvement and removes the guilt of lying to his friend. Also, Walter still hopes to escape, stating that he'll try to cross the border. But, the confession takes too long. At least he comes clean. "Double Indemnity" was a critical and financial success upon release. Surprisingly, it got seven academy award nominations but no victories. Admittedly, it has some flaws (Some clichés, as a result of later movies. And Stanwyck's blonde hairdo does look silly). Otherwise, it's deserving of being a classic. (The quotes used in this review are courtesy of the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) and the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) websites. After all, I don't want to be sued.)
Rating: 
Summary: Double trouble.
Review: This much-loved and respected old noir turns out to be rather overrated, once you peer past the fog of its reputation and honestly look at it. *Double Indemnity* shows all the strain of its attempt to be a "great" picture: the studio machine took it from a James M. Cain novel, hired none other than Raymond Chandler to co-write the screenplay, hired the best actress then available to play the femme fatale (Barbara Stanwyck), and even casted against type so that we'd pay attention (Fred MacMurray in a villain role; Edward G. Robinson in a hero role). All this straining for conventional excellence generally pays off, with the concomitant result that not much of the movie is particularly inspired. The tough, slangy dialogue seems geared to please our expectations of these characters rather than being individualized. The morality is totally Old Hollywood -- you won't find yourself challenged, here. (Stanwyck's abrupt reform to conventional "woman-in-love" near the end of the movie deeply irritates.) The worst charge to be leveled against *Double Indemnity* is conventionality. That said, it's conventional entertainment par excellence: the plot-turns are professionally excecuted, and the performances by Stanwyck (sociopathic, murderous hottie) and MacMurray (all-American-Nice-Guy turned obsessed-murderous-sinner and miserable about it every step of the way) are unbeatable.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Psychotic Thriller
Review: This movie confirms that Barbara Stanwyk was one of the most talented actresses of her generation. The character of Phyllis Dietrichson is always fully developed, believable, likeable and detestable. Along with the rest of the talented cast, Stanwyk brings this intense story to life. The script is taught and well developed, the cinematography is great and the music is perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Billy Wilder's crackling, timeless film noir masterpiece
Review: There is probably nothing new that can be said about "Double Indemnity", Billy Wilder's film noir masterpiece. What makes it truly remarkable to me is that it never seems to age. Only three elements date it: It's in black and white, there are no four letter words, and the sex is off screen. None of these elements hamper it in the least. It could be argued that they enhance it. One of its strong points is that two of its three stars are cast against type. Mr. Nice Guy, Fred MacMurray, plays rotten-to-the-core insurance salesman Walter Neff, while Edward G. Robinson, usually cast as the villain, is Barton Keyes, an eccentric, compassionate insurance claims investigator. As femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson, Barbara Stanwyck plays the kind of woman she is often associated with, but this still is one of her greatest performances. The more you view the movie, the more you see how densely layered it is. Walter and Phyllis's motivations in becoming lovers and plotting to kill her husband become less clear. Their ambiguity doesn't detract from the film. Instead, it makes it more fascinating. Perhaps the clearest example of how well written and directed "Double Indemnity" is this: Within the first three minutes, we know all about the crime Walter and Phyllis committed. We know Walter has been shot, and we are fairly certain who did it. Despite this knowledge, the movie turns out to be one of the most intense thrillers ever made. It's filled with 'hold your breath' scenes, some of which have since been imitated in scores of films. "Double Indemnity" was nominated for seven Oscars, but won none, though it was an enormous critical and boxoffice success. There can be but one reason for this: The year was 1945, and the nation, weary from years of war, was in no mood to give awards to such a dark and honest picture. The Academy chose for Best Picture the well-made but corny "Going My Way" instead.
Rating:
Summary: A Film Noir Classic
Review: Author James M. Cain virtually created a new genre with his extra-tough, sin-blackened, and sex-drenched novels--and they were so successful with the public that not even 1940s Hollywood could resist. The result was three of the most famous films of that decade: MILDRED PIERCE, THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, and DOUBLE INDEMNITY. Although POSTMAN is probably the better film, INDEMNITY is the most famous--possibly due to the story's truly psychotic edge, which is given full life by Barbara Stanwyck in one of her most celebrated performances. Like POSTMAN, INDEMNITY offers the story of a married woman who plots with her lover to murder her husband. Given MacMurray's typically "good guy" image, I didn't expect to believe him in the role of Walter Neff in the role of skirt-hungry Walter Neff--but MacMurray's performance is exceptionally good here, and all the more effective because it so completely unexpected. But while MacMurray has most of the screen time, it is really Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson who dominate the film. Stanwyck is truly memorable here, and gives us a woman who seems at once sexed-up and completely frigid, at once completely natural and absolutely artificial. It is a remarkable and often disturbing effect. Robinson, who endured decades of type-casting, is equally good as the blustery, slightly comic, and absolutely honest insurance man whose job it is to ferret out suspicious claims; it is largely due to his performance, which gives the film a moral center, that we are able to buy into the otherwise off-beat performances that drive the action. This was one of director Billy Wilder's first major hits, and he deserves considerable credit for making the weird elements of the story work as a whole, keeping the film smartly paced, and heaping it up with atmosphere. So influential that its impact would be difficult to over-estimate, DOUBLE INDEMNITY is a touchstone for the entire film noir genre. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The ne plus ultra of the film noir.
Review: Offhand, can you think of a wittier, more satisfying, more fatalistic and doom-laden film noir than Double Indemnity? I certainly can't. Borne of the love-hate relationships with humanity of director Billy Wilder and screenwriter Raymond Chandler (and their hate-hate relationship with each other), Double Indemnity is polished to a dark sheen, trailing clouds of jasmine perfume and gunsmoke. Wilder was the only director to discover and exploit the insinuating dark side of Fred MacMurray, and he certainly exploited Barbara Stanwyck's sultry sexuality for all it was worth. Edward G. Robinson is flat-out wonderful as a witty, tough insurance investigator; why he was never nominated for an Oscar--particularly not for this movie--is utterly beyond me. Double Indemnity is a cynical masterpiece that serves notice of the long string of cynical masterpieces Wilder produced during his career.
Rating:
Summary: "I couldn't hear my own footsteps...the walk of a dead man."
Review: A perfect crime. But why did they do it? I could go into the plot details, but that would take away from the subtle nuances of the film. What makes "Double Indemnity" different, and in many ways better, than most of the other film noirs are the ways that Walter Neff(Fred MacMurray) and Phyllis Dietrichson(Barbara Stanwyck) interact with each other. Usually in film noirs, the male hero is weak and submissive and ends up the pawn of the femme fatale. It is not exactly the case in Billy Wilder's film. They seem more intoxicated by their behavior and personal style than with the actual murder or money. Probably a result of the Hollywood lifestyle; they both seem to have read too many pulp fiction novels and watched too many movies. Billy Wilder later made "Sunset Boulevard," an even bolder statement about Hollywood. However, "Double Indemnity" stands alone, and like the late Great Billy Wilder, it is unique and one of a kind.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe....
Review: ...Billy Wilder's death will stimulate the studios into re-releasing the original, which should have been done anyway prior to the re-release of the remake. I think the jerks programming the releases of the DVDs should be aware that there are (not a few) customers who prefer to wait for the real thing and won't buy the "ersatz" they are so inclined to produce first.
Rating:
Summary: "Double" Your Fun!
Review: Now that sadly the world of cinema has lost the great Billy Wilder all we can do is marvel at the man's films who proved to be one of the most talented and versatile directors of his day.
Wilder's "Double Indemnity" has proven to be one of the all-time great noir films. And, to me, it is one of the most perfectly constructed films ever. "Double Indemnity" has set the standard for what a noir film must over come.
Based on James M. Cain's novel (he also wrote "The Postman Always Rings Twice", another one of the great noir films) and brought to screen by Wilder and Raymond Chandler ( Chandler too wrote some of the best noir stories ever, "The Big Sleep", "The Long Goodbye", and his first script "The Blue Dahlia")"Double Indemnity" tells the story of what seems to be the perfect crime. Insurance agent Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray, who was not the original choice, Dick Powell was) is told by Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanywyck, in one of her most famous roles) that she wants Walter to murder her husband! According to Walter's plan everything will go as planned and nothing will lead back to them. All they really have to worry about one Walter's boss, Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson). An investigator who has 26 years of experience. It's now up to Walter to think like Keyes. Try to determine how would HE think in a given situation. This will be their ONLY way to escape. As far the rest, well, just watch the movie and see what happens.
"Double Indemnity" has that "classic" noir look we expect from films in the 40's. There's the murky dark look to it. The music by Miklos Rozsa adds to the film's effect. And the beautiful b&w cinematography by John Seitz is wonderful to look at. "Double Indemnity" is a movie you can TRY to copy, but, nothing will ever beat the original.
It's amazing that for a film that is well over 60's years old, Wilder managed to create a film that still seems fresh and is actually smarter then some of the films we have being released today! That was and always will be what made Billy Wilder one of the all-time greats! His films will never go "out of style".
Rating:
Summary: Wilder's first really great flick!!!
Review: Like just about all of Billy's films, this one revolves around a scam, or even several scams wrapped around each other. Others tell the basic story. But the unmentioned scam here is of the insurance man disguising himself on a train as his femme fatale's rubbed out and not missed hubby. The train scenes, with Ins. Man Neff masquerading as a crutch- carrying (now dead) husband, are a lark.In those days, it seems, local trains had a viewing car at the back,something I've never seen on the many trains I've taken! And the later scenes with the train witness brought in to see E.G. Robinson's inquisitive insurance investigator are deviously hilarious, something that Wilder embellished thru just about all his later films. A great film starting with the insurance man's attempts to sell insurance to the late Ms. Stanwyck's devious unhappy spouse.BTW, if you are wondering about dictaphone technology of the time,this movie will answer your questions about that too!
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