Double Indemnity (1944)
Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson; d. Billy Wilder; A-

Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) was just a gifted insurance agent before his eyes fell on the gorgeous body and anklet of Phyllis Deitrichson (Barbara Stanwyck). It was at that point that he became a gifted murderer. Double Indemnity begins with Neff limping his way into an office, his office, in the late hours of the night. There he records a confession, a detailed description of the murder of one of his clients, Mr. Deitrichson (Tom Powers). When going to the Deitrichson house to discuss renewing Mr. Deitrichson's car insurance, he is greeted by his wife, Phyllis, who states that the man is not home. Neff is smitten by Phyllis, and can not get her off of his mind. When he sets up an appointment at a later date, it's obvious that it's not Mr. Deitrichson that he's interested in seeing. None the less the next meeting is to be the next day, later in the night. However, that next day Neff is called by Phyllis who wants to move the appointment to the day after day, in the afternoon. No doubt, Neff is pleased with her desicion, but the meeting proves to be more than what he expected. Phyllis is attracted to Walter, however, she's got her mind on other things. She wants to see if Walter can get her husband to sign an accident insurance contract. Immediatley, Walter smells a rat. Neff's boss, Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), had always pointed out his talent for sniffing out rotten insurance claims, and advised Neff to do the same. Neff rejects Phyllis's offer, suspecting that she might want to murder her husband. But when Phyllis and Walter begin to see more of each other, and Phyllis begins telling him stories of Deitrichson's alchoholism and abusivness, Walter becomes convinced that Deitrichson should be killed. He decides that he should get Deitrichson to sign the accident insurance contract, along with the renewal of the car insurance. He does this by not telling Deitrichson that he's signing the accident insurance contract. Then, he tells Phyllis his plan. His plan is to kill Deitrichson on a train and make it look like an accident. Why a train? Well, for obvious reasons, Phyllis wants to kill her husband for the money. If he is killed on the train, she will get double than what she would normally get, because of a double indemnity clause. Nobody expects anyone to die accidentaly on a train, thus any accidential death on a train would fall under the double indemnity clause. Things seem to be going in their favor: Deitrichson is taking a trip to Santa Barbara on a train, and on top of that, he breaks his leg. The couple are able to knock him off with little difficulty, and the murder is passed on as an accident. But, as they say, there's no such thing as the perfect murder...

Double Indemnity is a superb, sultry film noir, with great direction by Billy Wilder and with a great script from Wilder and Raymond Chandler. The plot takes on many twists and turns which are interesting and gripping to watch and figure out. Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson all give great performances, as well as Jean Heather, who plays Phyllis's stepdaughter, Lola. The only negative thing about this film is that many of the characters are underdeveloped, but the performances and the film as a whole make up for the lack of depth. Double Indemnity also benifits from a great theme written by Oscar-winner Miklos Rozsa (Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound). For all film noir fans or novices such as my self who have not seen this movie I highly reccomend it.

© Vert A Go Go Reviews 2001