Review of Double Indemnity (1973) by Kkl10 A — 28 Apr 2014
Directed by Billy Wilder, based upon the 1943 crime novella by James M. Cain, (which started out life as a serial in Liberty magazine) and co-written for the screen by Wilder and renowned crime writer Raymond Chandler.
This suspenseful and dark film-noir set the standard for the genre and many imitations and parodies followed in it's wake, but it's a good film and it has some very good performances in it. It begins with insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) dictating the events that came to this point, all told in flashback.
It all began when he met Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) at her house to remind her that her husband's (Tom Powers) car insurance is up for renewal. But she wants to take out a life insurance policy on his life, but Neff susses out she's up to something and backs off.
But he can't get Phyllis out of his mind, and agrees to help her kill her husband. Which they do, by having Neff jump off a train, and put Dietrichson's body on the line. It seems to go well but Neff's colleague Barton Keyes (Edward G.
Robinson) deduces something's not right. It's a very good film, and it has some good dialogue and a good plot too. It's a complex plot and does require attention, but it does pay off at the end, and it shares DNA with Cain's other great crime novel The Postman Always Rings Twice.
It's dark shadows and light look exquisite on screen too.
This review of Double Indemnity (1973) was written by Kkl10 A on 28 Apr 2014.
Double Indemnity has generally received positive reviews.
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