Double Indemnity.

Review #1825: Double Indemnity.

Cast: 
Fred MacMurray (Walter Neff), Barbara Stanwyck (Phyllis Dietrichson), Edward G. Robinson (Barton Keyes), Porter Hall (Mr. Jackson), Jean Heather (Lola Dietrichson), Tom Powers (Mr. Dietrichson), Byron Barr (Nino Zachetti), and Richard Gaines (Mr. Norton) Directed by Billy Wilder (#106 - Some Like It Hot, #194 - Ace in the Hole, #422 - The Fortune Cookie, #641 - The Apartment, #809 - Sunset Boulevard), #1384 - Stalag 17, and #1390 - The Seven Year Itch)

Review: 
"I never heard that expression film noir when I made Double Indemnity  ... I just made pictures I would have liked to see. When I was lucky, it coincided with the taste of the audience. With Double Indemnity, I was lucky."

If you can believe it, this was only the fourth directorial effort from Billy Wilder (along with his third since moving to America), who had more experience with scriptwriting (such as Ninotchka (1939), for example). It would also be his first notable effort, one that received considerable attention from audiences and critics (nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture) that he later called one of his best films. It was an adaptation of the crime novel of the same name by James M. Cain, which was first published in serial form for Liberty magazine in 1936 before being published in 1943 alongside two other stories (Career in C Major and The Embezzler were those stories); he based his novella on a 1927 murder by Ruth Synder, who had her boyfriend kill her husband after having him sign an insurance policy (with a certain clause), with the novel having an insurance agent as the inside man, inspired by conversations had with insurance men. Cain was a journalist before he was a writer, which he started with his first novel in The Postman Always Rings Twice in 1934 (which has had numerous film adaptations). His other most notable work was with Mildred Pierce (1941), which was adapted into a film as well. The plot changed slightly from translation onto the film screen, most notably with the final fate of its main characters, since it wasn't exactly something the Production Code would approve of (of course in the novella, the leads almost escape on an ocean liner together). In fact, the story was mired in development hell for years because of it being deemed "thoroughly unacceptable for screen presentation"; one of the biggest objections made by the Hays Office was to the omission of a gas-chamber execution scene (Wilder did film the scene, but he felt that the closing scene between the two male leads served as a more fitting one). The writers tasked to adapt the film was none other than Wilder and Raymond Chandler, a noted crime fiction writer who dabbled as a screenwriter; Wilder guided the structure and some of the dialogue while Chandler (in Wilder's words) comprehended the dialogue and start his own construction (i.e., not simply just incorporate Cain's words into dialogue). Cain was quite proud of the final result, one that he loved for the changes made because he wished he had thought of those himself.

It may be a cliche to say this by now, but this is one of the prime film noirs of its time (amusingly, not even a moral panic complaint by Kate Smith could stop audiences). It has all the aspects of a great film that would become a habit for its director in later years, one with tight execution and a solid acting trio. It is the kind of movie where 107 minutes runs so smoothly, doing so with great arrangement from Wilder and cinematography by John F. Seitz that capture the shadows one requires from a movie filled with such compelling people and dark corners. One can see the pulpy dialogue from Chandler and Wilder come across with such vivid effectiveness, one that glides across the screen with how it moves the process along in terms of pulp brilliance. MacMurray was generally known for his work in "nice guy" roles (at one point, the filmmakers actually considered George Raft, and yet it is this role that proved one of his most memorable in a lengthy career, one that sees him work so well in cultivating malleable curiosity, driving the story along with dutiful energy (not exactly just a "weak-willed guy", for example); one will find something interesting about the final scene before the climax in the little scene that happens afterwards, where MacMurray tells another character about going to the person they love. Stanwyck (as with her co-star) had a bit of reluctance in doing the role, but she makes it count for such alluring double-sidedness, one who glides across topics like murder without batting an eye, smoldering the screen in a way that makes the interactions between the two of them all the more interesting, right down to their fateful last scene; truly, she exemplifies the femme fatale role to a T. Robinson proves the contrast in a character role that has plenty of time to share with MacMurray in a mentor role that is graceful along with making a bond just as interesting as the MacMurray-Stanwyck sequences. The others (such as Powers as the limp mark) do fine in sharing the stage with the key three. As a whole, the movie is balanced in its aspects that work for any viewer (with or without experience in the noir sense), maneuvering through its quick setup (a man confessing his story on phone) with no cheap tricks that result in a kinetic success. There are a handful of interesting noirs but only so many that are really considered great, and this one belongs firmly in the latter category with no question, serving as one of Wilder's finest achievements in effective casting, music, and all-around atmosphere. 

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.