Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)
by Billy Wilder
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Actor: Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Fred MacMurray, Jean Heather, Porter HallDirector: Billy Wilder
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Special Edition
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 182 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)
DVD Review: The best
Summary: 5 Stars
Great movie. Excellent value. Arrived quickly. No problems. Have ordered many items and have never been disappointed. Thank you.DVD Review: One of the best
Summary: 5 Stars
Understandably many noir fans feel this movie is the best of its genre.
It is definitely in my top 10, maybe top 5.
No matter though, because it is a great movie, although I would have liked to see Dick Powell in this role instead of Fred McMurray.
It's a can't miss movie !
DVD Review: One of the best film noir movies ever made
Summary: 5 Stars
This is tense, gritty film noir at it's best, what more is there to say? A superb plot, directing, screenplay and a sterling cast..DVD Review: Back when substance was more important than special effects...
Summary: 5 Stars
So I've decided that the film noir has just been disrespected by the so called `noirs' of today, especially when you compare them to the greats of yesteryear. Having recently watched (and balked) films like `Devil in a Blue Dress' and `The Usual Suspects', supposed film noirs of today, I have been aching to convince myself yet again that the genre is not a total lost cause. Sure, we have the recent (ten years old now) `L.A. Confidential' to bolster our confidence that the genre isn't always handled atrociously; but even Hanson's masterpiece cannot hold a candle to Polanski's `Chinatown' or Wilder's brilliant `Double Indemnity'.
This 1944 classic centers on insurance salesman Walter Neff as he is conned into committing a heinous crime by the beautiful and intoxicating Phyllis Dietrichson. Phyllis proposes that Walter sign her husband up for accident insurance without his knowledge so that he can have an `accident' and she can collect the insurance payout. Walter catches on to her game and is initially put off, but his infatuation with Phyllis, and her cries of unfair treatment from her husband, cause him to change his mind and soon he is conning the very company for which he works.
But nothing every goes as smoothly as one would like it to.
Walter's boss, Barton Keyes, can smell a scam from a mile away, and his instincts immediately kick in when he gets wind of the Dietrichson claim. Beings that he has known Walter for years he doesn't suspect him in the least, but Walter's relationship with Phyllis could raise concern and so they struggle to keep their relationship a secret; but there is more Phyllis is keeping from Walter, secrets that could ultimately change the outcome of both their lives.
With sharp dialog and a plot filled with believable and dastardly twists, `Double Indemnity' is a brilliantly crafted film noir that stands firm as one of the best of the breed, and quite possibly one of the best in any breed come to think of it. The acting is superb and the direction is flawless. Fred MacMurray wonderfully sinks into his character, exposing his raw naivety when it comes to the advances of a cunning woman, and his guilt ridden core is masterfully blinded by his own desire for everything to be as he planned. Barbara Stanwych (who received a well deserved Oscar nomination) is a revelation as the devilish Phyllis, allowing her faux charms to woo us before exposing the person she really is.
The supporting cast is also stellar, from Edward G. Robinson's portrayal of the untrusting Keyes to Jean Heathers jilted step daughter and Tom Powers angry husband; all of whom add layers to the already complete film.
Watching a film like `Double Indemnity' makes me wish that every film were as complete and satisfying as these films of old. The stories were all so well thought out and elaborate, tightly woven to entice all of our senses. Today filmmakers are more concerned with visual grandeur than with mental stimulation, which is sad because a film falls flat without a worthy plot to lift it up. `Double Indemnity' has that plot, perfectly fleshed out to keep us in complete awe of its every frame.
DVD Review: Great Performances by Stanwyck and Robinson
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an excellent film. Stanwyck is an extraordinary actress who has the ability to convey the sex appeal, power, and vulnerability of the femme fatale who sets this murder plot in motion. Robinson is also truly great at making the honest claims adjuster utterly convincing. His relationship with MacMurray is, ironically enough, the real love story of the movie.
Without these two great performances, this is simply a standard Grade B movie. Fred MacMurray does a good job, but unlike Robinson and Stanwyck, he can't breath enough life into this role to make it utterly convincing. Not that this was an easy acting job -- but he doesn't quite bring it off.
My problem with the movie is the motivation of MacMurray. There is not enough time for him to develop an impassioned relationship with Stanwyck. Yes, she's a dish, to use the parlance of the day, but come on -- he's planning murder before he even knows her. Roger Ebert argues that the real motive here was not the sex, but the thrill of the murder and the sin itself. Perhaps that was Billy Wilder's point. But I just remain unconvinced by MacMurray's character.
Anyway -- it's a wonderful movie that looks great on this DVD set.
Description of Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)
Director Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard) and writer Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep) adapted James M. Cain's hard-boiled novel into this wildly thrilling story of insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), who schemes the perfect murder with the beautiful dame Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck): kill Dietrichson's husband and make off with the insurance money. But, of course, in these plots things never quite go as planned, and Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) is the wily insurance investigator who must sort things out. From the opening scene you know Neff is doomed, as the story is told in flashback; yet, to the film's credit, this doesn't diminish any of the tension of the movie. This early film noir flick is wonderfully campy by today's standards, and the dialogue is snappy ("I thought you were smarter than the rest, Walter. But I was wrong. You're not smarter, just a little taller"), filled with lots of "dame"s and "baby"s. Stanwyck is the ultimate femme fatale, and MacMurray, despite a career largely defined by roles as a softy (notably in the TV series My Three Sons and the movie The Shaggy Dog), is convincingly cast against type as the hapless, love-struck sap. --Jenny BrownGeneral DVDs
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