Paramount Studio's 1944 release Double Indemnity is one of the best examples of true-to-form film noir. The plot of the film is straightforward. Fueled by greed, a wife decides to take out an insurance policy on her unsuspecting husband, with plans of murdering him for the proceeds. The policy contains a double indemnity clause, which will pay twice the policy amount in the event of death by accident. To make her plan succeed, she enlists the help of an accomplice to help murder her spouse and make it seem accidental.

Adapted from a novel by James M. Cain, Double Indemnity is loosely based on the real-life Snyder-Gray murder case of 1927, in which a New York housewife persuaded her young lover to commit murder. The woman had taken out a double indemnity life insurance policy on her husband without his knowledge. The murder succeeded but the killers were caught and executed the following year. Just as actual events influenced the making of this film, Double Indemnity has influenced numerous movies based on the same premise, the most notable of which are 1946's The Postman Always Rings Twice and 1981's Body Heat.

Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson is the ultimate femme fatale. Everything about her--hair, clothing, jewelry, voice, even her perfume--are calculated to reinforce her compelling persona. She is beautiful, blonde and sleazy. In their first meeting, when Walter Neff sees her descending her staircase, he is doomed. When she sees Neff, she instinctively knows that he will succumb to her evil will. True to her role as noir femme fatale, Phyllis shows no sense of morality or conscience. Her only concern is to satisfy her own desires. This is her great strength. In her callous detachment, she is able to do anything necessary with no sense of guilt. Walter is powerless against her hypnotic appeal.

A femme fatale always needs a pawn to do her bidding and Walter Neff becomes a willing pawn. Breaking away from his nice guy image, Fred MacMurray is excellent as insurance salesman Walter Neff. It is through his flashback narration that the story is told. Neff is otherwise a strong and worldly man who initially believes that he is in complete control of his emotions. But, he comes to realize that Phyllis can not only control him but has the power to consume his entire being. He is soon at her mercy, willing to do anything to possess her. To do so, he is drawn into a doomed alliance, in the name of which he commits a brutal murder.

Edward G. Robinson is Barton Keyes, dedicated insurance investigator for the Pacific All-Risk Insurance Company and Neff's superior. Even though Keyes is an expert in his field and suspects foul play in the Dietrichson murder, he never considers Neff as being involved. Robinson, who was one of film's most versatile actors, excels in this low-key supporting role.

Once the murder is committed, an unexpected obstacle confronts Walter and Phyllis. Even the strong sexual attraction between the two cannot prevent mutual suspicion from infecting their relationship. When Neff finds out that Phyllis has a horrible secret, he discovers that, under her spell, he has become not only a murderer but a victim as well.

Remarkably, the film received no Academy Awards out of six nominations. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Billy Wilder), Best Actress (Barbara Stanwyck), Best Black and White Photography (John Seitz), Best Music Score (Miklos Rozsa) and Best Screenplay (Wilder and Raymond Chandler, creator of the Philip Marlowe film character).

Under the masterful direction of Billy Wilder, the film moves swiftly through the noir elements of greed, passion, weakness, suspicion and tragedy by way of a brilliant cast, stellar acting and striking photography. Wilder brings out the most in the characters, making them seem believable without making them stereotypical. He makes the dialogue an integral part of the film, with close attention paid to the exchanges between Neff and Phyllis.

The photography was as much a key element in the film as any other component. A brooding, darkened city is the dim backdrop for the action of the film, drawing attention only to certain symbolic objects for effect. The dark, shadowed lighting of the Dietrichson house is significant, creating the perfect atmosphere for the deadly plot.

For its excellence in casting, acting, photography and a gripping plot, Double Indemnity has earned and kept its stature as one of the best film noir movies ever made.





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