Double Indemnity [DVD] [1944]

This is one of the greatest Black and White Movies that was made in the 40's. If you like old Mysteries filmed with Drama this is the film you don't want to miss.

One of the best movies I've ever seen, suspenseful, fast-paced dialogue, excellent performances and an absolute perfect example of film noir.

Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson and directed by Billy Wilder, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Raymond Chandler, Double Indemnity is a classic of the Film Noir genre. Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) is a successful insurance salesman for Pacific All Risk insurance. He falls in love with Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwych) when he meets her on a routine business call. Mrs Dietrichson is trapped in a loveless marriage and wants her husband, Mr Dietrichson (Tom Powers) killed off so she can claim on the insurance (hence the double indemnity of the title). Praised by many critics when first released, Double Indemnity was nominated for seven Academy Awards. It is often cited as an archetype of film noir and as having set the bar for the films that followed in that genre. Deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the U.S. Library of Congress in 1992, Double Indemnity was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. In 1998, it was ranked #38 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 best American films of the 20th century. If you aren't familiar with film noir then this is a great place to start (I would also recommend The Postman Always Rings Twice [1946] [DVD ] and Out Of The Past [DVD] [1947 ] as excellent places to begin). Also of interest may be James M. Cain's original book Double Indemnity .

Despite the noir genre not matching at first with the director of great comedies Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, Avanti!), it is indeed one of his best works. A crime story told in flashback, it tells a tale of insurance agent (Fred MacMurray cast wonderfullly against type, as he was in another Wilder classic, The Apartment) falling for a true femme fatale (Barbara Stanwyck at her innocently seductive best). Together they scheme a murder of her husband with the insurance with double indemnity clause as icing on the cake... Towering over most of noirs, the film is crisp in its storytelling and expertly paced, teeming with intelligent dialogues and seasoned with other interesting, albeit small characters, including Stanwyck's stepdaughter and her boyfriend. The role of his lifetime was, however, reserved here for Edward G. Robinson, another insurance agent on the heels of disclosing the wicked scheme. Going out in 1944, the film was nominated for seven Oscars and remains among the best noirs ever, alongside "Laura", "The Maltese Falcon" or later "Chinatown".

Came early than expected in good condition and well wrapped!!

I had heard of "Double Indemnity" before, doubtless because it is well-known as a film noir, but was unprepared for just how taut and gripping a film it is. The plot is quite simply matchless, and all it needed was actors to do the characters justice, and Fred Macmurry (as the insurance salesman), Edgar G Robinson ( as his immediate boss), and Barbara Stanwyck ( as the client with an interest in having her husband murdered) certainly do that. "Double Indemnity" holds the viewer from start to finish, and has moments of such tension that one would do well to have a fortifying drink to hand, unless one's nerves are those of steel.