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Double Indemnity
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Synopsis
Directed by Billy Wilder and adapted from a James M. Cain novel by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, Double Indemnity represents the high-water mark of 1940s film noir urban crime dramas in which a greedy, weak man is seduced and trapped by a cold, evil woman amidst the dark shadows and Expressionist lighting of modern cities. Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) seduces insurance agent Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) into murdering her husband to collect his accident policy. The murder goes as planned, but after the couple's passion cools, each becomes suspicious of the other's motives. The plan is further complicated when Neff's boss Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), a brilliant insurance investigator, takes over the investigation. Told in flashbacks from Neff's perspective, the film moves with ruthless determinism as each character meets what seems to be a preordained fate. Movie veterans Stanwyck, MacMurray, and Robinson give some of their best performances, and Wilder's cynical sensibility finds a perfect match in the story's unsentimental perspective, heightened by John Seitz's hard-edged cinematography. Double Indemnity ranks with the classics of mainstream Hollywood movie-making. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Cast

Fortunio Bonanova Sam Gorlopis
Richard Gaines Mr. Norton
Porter Hall Mr. Jackson
Jean Heather Lola Dietrichson
Fred MacMurray Walter Neff
John Philliber Joe Pete
Tom Powers Mr. Dietrichson
Edward G. Robinson Barton Keyes
Barbara Stanwyck Phyllis Dietrichson
Byron Barr Nino Zachette

Production Crew

Hal Pereira Art Director
Hans Dreier Art Director
James M. Cain Book Author
John F. Seitz Cinematographer
Cesar Franck Composer (Music Score)
Miklos Rozsa Composer (Music Score)
Edith Head Costume Designer
Billy Wilder Director
Doane Harrison Editor
Cesar Franck Featured Music
Wally Westmore Makeup
Joseph Sistrom Producer
Billy Wilder Screenwriter
Raymond Chandler Screenwriter
Bertram Granger Set Designer
Stanley Cooley Sound/Sound Designer
Walter Oberst Sound/Sound Designer
Year: 1944
Runtime: 107
Country: USA
MPAA Rating:
Category: Feature

Genre
Crime

Produced by
Paramount

Release
by Paramount

Awards
1944 - Best Film - New York Film Critics Circle
1944 - Best Picture - Academy
1991 - U.S. National Film Registry - Library of Congress
1998 - 100 Greatest American Movies - American Film Institute