Double Indemnity (1944)

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Double Indemnity (1944)

Director: Billy Wilder

Screenplay: Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler from the novel by James M. Cain

Stars: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson and Walter Huston


The Pitch: “Hey, let’s turn James Cain’s Double Indemnity into a movie!”

Tagline: From the Moment they met it was Murder!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Walter Neff [MacMurray], an insurance salesman, meets and falls hard for the wife [Stanwyck] of one of his clients.  Before too long they’re plotting his murder to cash in on an insurance policy that Neff tricked him into buying.  Because Neff is in the business he believes they can pull off the murder and make it look like an accident so they can collect on the double indemnity clause.

The only thing between them and the cash is to commit the murder and pull it off without a hitch or Neff’s partner figuring out it wasn’t an accident.

If you like noir, you’ll love Double Indemnity.  Directed by Billy Wilder with snappy dialogue and mounting tension.  If you only know MacMurray from My Three Sons or Stanwyck from The Big Valley, prepare to be shocked!

A classic.

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