Double Indemnity (film)
"Double Indemnity" is a classic 1944 film noir directed by Billy Wilder, based on James M. Cain's crime story "Three of a Kind." The film features notable performances by Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson, with a storyline that revolves around seduction, murder, and betrayal. Stanwyck’s character manipulates MacMurray’s into committing the murder of her husband, leading to a series of treacherous events that culminate in mutual destruction. The casting choices defy typical typecasting, as MacMurray and Stanwyck, known for portraying sympathetic roles, embody the film’s deceitful protagonists, while Robinson serves as the moral compass amidst the chaos.
The film is lauded for its moral ambiguity and sharp dialogue, which became hallmarks of the film noir genre. Although "Double Indemnity" received seven Academy Award nominations without a win, its bold narrative style challenged the boundaries of the Motion Picture Production Code and influenced future crime films. Its commercial success helped revive interest in Cain's works, leading to adaptations such as "Mildred Pierce" and "The Postman Always Rings Twice." As a pivotal piece of cinema from the 1940s, "Double Indemnity" is often regarded as one of Hollywood's most significant contributions to the film noir genre.
Double Indemnity (film)
Identification Film noir about murder and deception by a boorish insurance agent and the manipulative and seductive wife of a client
Director Billy Wilder (1906-2002)
Date Released on September 6, 1944
Though the term “film noir” would not be introduced until 1946, Double Indemnity represents one of the earliest, and many say one of the best, examples of the cinematic style. Its techniques of characterization, narration, and lighting were widely imitated and became conventions of film noir.
The difficulties of the Great Depression and World War II created an appetite for films with dark themes, so director Billy Wilder turned to James M. Cain’s hard-boiled crime story Three of a Kind (1935) for his film Double Indemnity. To help write the screenplay, Wilder recruited Raymond Chandler, a novelist whose name became synonymous with hard-boiled crime fiction. Their simplified story line and Chandler’s edgy dialogue gave the movie a moral ambiguity that became a trademark of film noir.
To accentuate the ambiguity, Wilder cast his leads against type: Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck, known for sympathetic and likeable characters, as seductive and deceitful murderers, and Edward G. Robinson, famous for portraying gangsters, as the film’s moral center. Stanwyck’s character seduces MacMurray’s into killing her husband, but as their cover story falls apart, they turn against, and eventually kill, each other.
Impact
Double Indemnity was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and though it won none, its erotic and brutal story line pushed the boundaries of the Motion Picture Production Code and paved the way for subsequent hard-boiled crime movies. The film’s commercial success led Hollywood back to Cain’s novels for two more successful pictures—Mildred Pierce (1945) and The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)—and its critical success led film noir to be considered worthy of A-list actors and directors. Many such movies from the 1940’s are among Hollywood’s most revered films.
Bibliography
Cain, James M. Double Indemnity. New York: Vintage Books, 1992.
Schickel, Richard. Double Indemnity. London: British Film Institute, 1992.