Dir.
Billy Wilder, US, 1944, 107 mins
Cast:
Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G Robinson, Porter Hall, Jean Heather, Tom Powers
In this welcome re-issue of a prime example of Film Noir, Fred MacMurray stars as Walter Neff, a sleazy insurance salesman who's good at his job but somewhat bored by it. A routine call to the home of a Mr Dietrichson (Powers) about renewing his car insurance leads Walter to meeting instead the man's wife, Phyllis, a towel-draped blonde who is more interested in Walter than in what he's selling.
Or is she? MacMurray and Stanwyck ooze animal magnetism as they exchange sexually-charged conversation, with Walter quickly falling under the spell of this femme fatale. How far will a man go for the woman he is in lust with? According to Lola (Heather), Phyllis' stepdaughter, the woman has already killed once. Phyllis met her father whilst nursing his sick first wife and, on her subsequent demise, quickly took her place.
Phyllis certainly does have murder in mind, and a whole lot more. She coerces Walter to aid her in a little scheme. What if her husband was to take out a $50,000 double indemnity policy, payable on his death? And what if, coincidentally, he was to suddenly die?
MacMurray is pitch perfect as the instrument of his own destruction as he complies with her demands, juggling lust with belated guilt. Unfortunately, his own mentor, Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), a scrupulously honest insurance claims investigator, has been in the game too long and smells a rat. In a tale in which the pivotal theme is the abandon of reason, Keyes is the character who maintains a sense of logic, and therefore the agent of justice. This is a morality tale, MacMurray playing Adam to Stanwyck's Eve. The question is what is it that really tempts them? Phyllis clearly has dollar signs in her eyes, but she later cries out that this isn't about the money, but about them. If that's the case, why do they feel the need to kill? The answer lies in the interaction between the two lead characters. As the playful sparring in their first meeting shows, this is a classic example of two people playing off each other, raising the stakes at each exchange. Why does the scorpion sting? Because it's in its nature.
Based on the novel by James M Cain, and similar in theme to his 'The Postman Always Rings Twice', Double Indemnity still dazzles with its mesmerising central performances, particularly from Stanwyck at her teeteringly deranged best, and remains one of the benchmarks of the dark, dirty, underworld genre of Film Noir.
Jean Lynch
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