What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here: http://www.spout.com/blogs/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25756.aspx
Double Indemnity is on the following AFI lists:
The Original Top 100 (#38)
100 Most Heart-Pounding Movies (#24)
100 Years...100 Passions (#84)
100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains (Phyllis Dietrichson is the #8 villain)
The Revised Top 100 (#29)
I watched Double Indemnity instantly on Netflix. I had never seen the film before, though I'd heard of it. I hadn't heard much about it, though. It's notable enough to be on lots of lists, but I'd never actually read much about it or had conversations about the film with anyone who'd seen it. Isn't that funny? I guess in a way, having so little information about this film made me enjoy it that much more because, I gotta say, I loved this movie! What a gem. It climbed up 9 spots on the Revised greatest list, and I think quite deservingly. This is certainly the best film noir I've personally seen and one of the most entertaining movies I've encountered in a while.
Billy Wilder both directed and penned the script, and I personally feel like this is one of his best and a much better film than both Some Like It Hot and Sunset Boulevard, but I'll get to that in a minute. Femme fatale and seductress Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) tempts clever but weak insurance agent Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) into murdering her husband in order to collect on his accident insurance, which contains a double indemnity clause (which provides for double the payment in the event of rare accidents like, say, falling out of a train). Walter plans the perfect crime, but things start to go awry when his boss, Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), begins to suspect a scam as he takes charge of the investigation. What's more, the act of murder and the ensuing cover-up seems to cool Walter and Phyllis' lusty jets to the point that each suspects the other's motives. Since this is film noir, the story is told almost entirely in flashback as Walter confesses his actions into Keyes' dictaphone.
What a film! This is a smart and sexy little thriller that was as naughty as it was nice. Though the film was, as all films were at the time, restricted to the Hayes Production Code (which limited racy scenes, for example), Wilder and company really pushed the limits of what could be construed as acceptable Hayes material. The sexual tension between Walter and Phyllis was so hot, it was on fire, and there were some implications of consummated extramarital activities, not to mention Walter's unseemly fixation on Phyllis' anklet! They might not have talked as real people talk, trading quick but sardonic barbs in a ping pong way, but in the fantasy of this crime drama, it was hugely entertaining. The dialogue was whip-smart, and the story, based on a novel, was intricate and satisfying in just about every way. In fact, I can't think of a time I've had more fun watching a film noir at all.
As the All Movie Guide and others have suggested, MacMurray and Stanwyck gave the performances of their careers. Stanwyck walked a fine line between cold and calculating and bewitchingly psychotic while a maintaining a unique sort of snake-charmer beauty. MacMurray - now keep in mind that this is My Three Sons and Shaggy Dog Fred MacMurray - infused the weak, easily-seduced male archetype of this noir story with a sort of strength that made Walter endearing, even when he was so willing to break Mr. Dietrichson's neck and devise all of the twisted details of the scheme himself. The two mixed together were an electric combination of fire and ice - even when they were suspicious and wary of each other - and all of these ingredients kept me interested from the first to the final moment.
Edward G. Robinson was also good. I've mostly seen him in villain roles, so it was neat to see him as a funny and interesting supporting character who turned out to be some of the antagonistic force of the plot. He was just a joy to watch as was some of the typical yet groundbreaking cinematography, adding to the noir formula but creatively playing with shadow and light to both foreshadow and remind the viewer of details seen and events to come. My favorite scene was somewhere in the first third, when Walter was waxing on about the plan to off her husband, and Phyllis stood in a lit doorway, her face and front completely overshadowed by darkness. The line that came to my mind was actually one uttered by Mammy in Gone with the Wind - "ooh, she's sitting there just like a spider!"
The film is not quite a masterpiece. The ending, as with some of these other older films, seemed too neat, too convenient, and too rushed (but for Walter's clever last lines) after the climactic events as well as being somewhat predictable. Also, other elements, such as the score, seemed kind of run-of-the-mill - nothing bad but nothing notable.
Still, as I mentioned, I found this film far more entertaining and thrilling than Sunset Boulevard (which I figure earned points for being so bitingly satirical) and was far funnier than Some Like It Hot, Wilder's previous entries on the Original greatest list. I think it should be ranked higher than both but am gratified to see that it was the rare film that went up on the Revised list. I also think its placement and entry on the other lists couldn't be more appropriate. My heart pounded, and went pitter-patter with the smoldering sexual tension, and Phyllis Dietrichson was certainly an evil little vixen (even if she has a moment or two where that notion is cast into doubt). Double Indemnity is a great film, worthy of all of these rankings, and has a catchy title, and I'm inclined to rate it a 9 for being perfectly entertaining. Also, I think this film passes the test. I would watch this again, even a few times more. It made me laugh and kept me interested the entire film, and I actually had to watch the film in two parts because my internet connection died three quarters of the way into the film (you can't imagine how mad I was when I had to wait to find out how it ended!). Needless to say, I recommend Double Indemnity highly. It's two hours well spent and worth twice what it pays out!