1. DOUBLE INDEMNITY NOTES
Taken from: http://blog.cinemaautopsy.com/2008/10/09/notes-on-film-
double-indemnity/
Not only is Double Indemnity one of the archetypal films known as film noir but it is regarded by
many as the first true film noir. It is also one of the best. The characters, scenario and stylistic
elements of Double Indemnity all perfectly represent this group of Hollywood films from the early
1940s to the late 1950s. The dark tone of Double Indemnity, both visually and thematically, the anti-
hero who is led astray by greed and lust, and the seductive yet deadly femme fatale are all essential
film noir ingredients.
Film noir can trace its origins back to the violent and glamorous gangster films of the 1930s but also
to the hardboiled crime fiction that emerged from the Depression that was characterised by witty,
sardonic and creatively descriptive dialogue. Double Indemnity is filled with wonderful examples of this
style of hardboiled dialogue and many of the early scenes between Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) and
Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) are filled with suggestive, evocative and witty lines that the
pair trade as if sparring with one another. Another characteristic of hardboiled fiction and film noir is
the first person narrator, which Double Indemnity also incorporates.
It is hardly surprising that Double Indemnity is filled with some of the best examples of hardboiled
language as two legends of hardboiled fiction contributed to the script. James M. Cain wrote the
original novel, from which the film was adapted, and Raymond Chandler did the co-adaptation. Cain
also wrote the novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, which was adapted for the screen several times
but most notably for director Tay Garnett’s 1946 film.
Film noir is a stylistic movement that defines 1940s and 1950s America. The actual term film noir was
not known to many American filmmakers of the time as the term originated from French critics who
were the first to recognise the trend in Hollywood for making what translates literally into English as
“black film”. This label referred to the low-key lighting that is arguably the most defining feature of
film noir and it is a key element of Double Indemnity‘s cinematography. Double Indemnity is an
incredibly dark film with characters emerging from darkness, shadows obscuring the faces of the
characters and a strong prevalence of Venetian blinds casting striped shadows over everything in shot.
In Double Indemnity, and many other film noir, this use of shadows portrays the environment that the
Fred
MacMurray
Walter Neff
Barbara Stanwyck
Phyllis Dietrichson
Edward G.
Robinson
Barton Keyes
Porter Hall
Mr Jackson
Production Credits
1 Director - Billy Wilder
2 Screenplay - Billy Wilder
3 Screenplay - Raymond Chandler
4 Executive Producer - B. G. DeSylva

2. characters live in as dangerous and full of corruption, mystery and violence, inhabited by people with
dubious motives and ambiguous morals.
The dramatic lighting style that characterises film noir can be traced back to the German Expressionist
films of the late 1910s to the early 1930s as many filmmakers who had been working in the German
film industry came to Hollywood when the Nazis came to power. Double Indemnity director Billy
Wilder, an Austrian born scriptwriter with Jewish ancestry, was one of these filmmakers. Double
Indemnity was not Wilder’s first film as director but it was the one that established his career and he
is still regarded today as one of the all time great directors. He later directed another defining film
noir, Sunset Blvd. (1950), plus other classics including the comedy Some Like It Hot (1959).
The world of film noir reflects both the post World War II survival at all cost mentality plus the ruthless
desire to overcome any obstacle by any means necessary to achieve the American Dream. Although
film noir stories are often about a small time private detective who gets way out of his depth, the
leading male character, as in the case of Double Indemnity, can also simply be an average guy who
gets embroiled in a situation that he has no control over. He usually gets into this situation because
his common sense and moral fibre go astray when he is tempted by money, a woman, or, as in the
case of Double Indemnity, both. Fred MacMurray as insurance salesmen Walter Neff perfectly
embodies the film noir hero who is a combination of kind-hearted softy, hopeless sap and ruthless
murderer. Like most film noir heroes, he is doomed from the start.
The final key element of any film noir is the femme fatale – the beautiful woman who entraps the hero
with promises of money, sex and love, only to ultimately betray him. Barbara Stanwyck’s portrayal of
Phyllis Dietrichson is still considered one of the all time great femme fatales as she perfectly embodies
the seductress feigning helplessness who is gradually revealed to be manipulative and deadly. Her first
scene perfectly captures her allure and dominance – she appears undressed at the top of the staircase
looking down at Neff. She is a mix of sensuality and power and her verbal sparring with him establish
her status as a force to be reckoned with. Interestingly, this depiction of sexually assertive women
proved to be very popular with female audiences at the time. The femme fatale may be accused
ultimately of being responsible for the downfall of the male hero, but for at least most of the film,
women in the audience got to enjoy the depiction of a powerful woman who controls the situation.
Nevertheless there were some film noirs at the time, plus the revisionist film noirs from the 1970s up
to now, that challenge this portrayal by suggesting that it is obsessive and paranoid men who bring
about their own downfall while the women get the blame.
KEY QUOTES (all WALTER NEFF):
“You said it wasn’t an accident. Check. You said it wasn’t suicide. Check. You said it was murder.
Check. When it came to picking a killer, you picked the wrong man”.
“Walter Neff... no visible scars til a while ago that is”
“Didn’t get the money, didn’t get the woman”
“The living room was still dusty from last nights cigars. The venetian blinds blew up the dust in the
air”
“How could I have known that murder sometimes smelt like honeysuckle”
Walter to Mrs D “So you lie in bed at night, listen to him snore and get ideas?”
“She started crying softly like the rain on the window”
“We’re going to do it and do it right”
“I could hear my own footsteps. It was the walk of a deadman”