Double Indemnity | Rotten Tomatoes

Double Indemnity

Released Sep 6, 1944

1h 46m

Crime

Drama

List

97%

110 Reviews

Tomatometer

95%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In this classic film noir, insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) gets roped into a murderous scheme when he falls for the sensual Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who is intent on killing her husband (Tom Powers) and living off the fraudulent accidental death claim. Prompted by the late Mr. Dietrichson's daughter, Lola (Jean Heather), insurance investigator Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) looks into the case, and gradually begins to uncover the sinister truth.

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Critics Consensus

A dark, tautly constructed adaptation of James M. Cain's novel -- penned by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler -- Double Indemnity continues to set the standard for the best in Hollywood film noir.

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Wendy Ide

Times (UK)

Arguably one of the greatest works of film noir...

Nov 30, 2023

Full Review

Chuck Bowen

Slant Magazine

Double Indemnity is a ruthless and poignant cornucopia of the details that command our lives.

May 26, 2022

Full Review

Mary Hunt

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Barbara Stanwyck Is consistently tough throughout and gives an excellent performance.

Feb 17, 2022

Full Review

David Harris

Spectrum Culture

Wilder explores the seamy underside of the American Dream in many of his films but never addresses it head on like he does in Double Indemnity.

Mar 14, 2023

Full Review

Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

Billy Wilder’s sensational noir...

Mar 8, 2023

Full Review

Zita Short

InSession Film

I can only imagine how inadequate other actresses playing femme fatales feel when they have to live up to Stanwyck’s legend.

Feb 9, 2023

Full Review

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Audience Member

Saw this for a film class in college that I had to take as an elective and was not looking forward to it. Turned out to be a fantastic movie that is something everyone should watch. Fantastic movie!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/06/24

Full Review

Mark D

Wonderful movie. Great pace, music, lighting and dialogue. If you like Raymond Chandler, you have to watch this.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/14/24

Full Review

Jack V

Classic noir. Great storytelling and acting!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/03/24

Full Review

Jay H

Great performance by Edward G. Robinson.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/15/23

Full Review

Yash B

"Double Indemnity" might be among my favorite film noir classics. I think this movie is really entertaining and very well-paced for a movie as old as it is. The story takes a variety of turns that were a delight to watch. The movie isn't necessarily about characters I wanted to root for, but did want to see what they would do next. I can see why this is a movie that has gone down as a classic as it feels timeless with its story and the morality it presents. Overall, it is a movie that kept me pretty engaged and also kept me invested in what was going to happen next, and is a lot better paced than many other older films.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/09/23

Full Review

Matthew B

Not least among Billy Wilder's remarkable achievements in making Double Indemnity is the fact that the talented moviemaker managed to get it made at all. Wilder's first thriller (his third movie as a film director) was based on a James M Cain novel that Hollywood regarded as unfilmable due to its sordid content. Even Wilder's usual script collaborator Charles Brackett bowed out from making the film because he felt uncomfortable with the subject matter. Wilder's decision to work instead with Raymond Chandler proved to be a marvellous piece of luck, though a personal tragedy for Chandler himself. Chandler provided a script full of sharp and witty dialogue, but Wilder was unhappy with Chandler's wish to ditch most of the dialogue from Cain's novel, which Chandler (never a fan of Cain) thought was uncinematic. In the end, a reading of the script convinced Wilder that Chandler was right. Chandler was further vindicated by James M Cain himself, who enthusiastically suggested that he would have added many of these touches to his original book if he had thought of them first. The story's reputation also made casting difficult, and all three of its stars were initially resistant to accepting their roles. Barbara Stanwyck was the best-paid actress, and therefore the best-paid woman in the country at the time, so she was reluctant to play a killer. Fred MacMurray was used to playing good guys and felt that he did not have the skill necessary to play his part – later he said this was best performance. Edward G Robinson was a leading actor at the time and not ready to accept third billing. However Wilder managed with persistence to persuade all three stars to take their parts. The subject matter of the film is summarised at the start by Walter Neff (MacMurray): "Want to know who killed Dietrichson?…I killed him for money – and a woman – and I didn't get the money and I didn't get the woman." This sense that Neff's fate is inevitable is reflected in a recurrent metaphor used in the movie – that of a railway line. A train and a railway line play a part in the murder, and Neff is briefly one of the passengers on that train. Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson (Stanwyck) use the expression ‘straight down the line' in relation to their complicity in the crime. Barton Keyes (Robinson) uses the metaphor differently: They may think it's twice as safe because there are two of them. But it isn't twice as safe. It's ten times twice as dangerous. They've committed a murder. And it's not like taking a trolley ride together where they can get off at different stops. They're stuck with each other and they've got to ride all the way to the end of the line and it's a one-way trip and the last stop is the cemetery. What lends the movie its sense of gloomy inevitability is not Fate, but the personalities of the two murderers that prevent them from escaping their frustrated motives of lust and greed. Neff even has a premonition of failure just after the murder has been accomplished. Nothing has gone wrong, and yet he is suddenly convinced that he will be caught: "I couldn't hear my own footsteps. It was the walk of a dying man." The emotional heart of the movie though is not the love between Neff and Phyllis, Neff and Lola, or Lola and Zachetti. It is the reciprocal affection between Neff and his colleague Keyes. Barton Keyes is an insurance bloodhound with a real pride and love in his work. This makes Keyes a concern for Neff since if anyone can work out the murder it is Keyes. However, there is a genuine fondness between the two men. Neff recognises that Keyes has a good heart behind his gruff manner, and Keyes has a fatherly affection for Neff that clouds his judgement. Double Indemnity is sometimes seen as the first film noir. This is misleading, although the term film noir is an elusive one. There were movies made earlier that are regarded as film noirs, and Wilder himself was unfamiliar with the term. Nonetheless it does contain many of the standard noir elements – sarcastic and witty dialogue, a crime viewed from the criminal's point of view, understated sexual insinuation, murder, and the use of dark and claustrophobic camera work and sets. Wilder tended to concentrate more on plotting and dialogue than using technical trickery, which he felt distracted the audience from the story. However this does not mean that his films lack style altogether. Double Indemnity makes good use of light and shadow – the light of the bright Californian exterior contrasted with the dark and dusty interiors, the perfect metaphor for the people in the film. The director also uses unusual camera angles, and many scenes contain the shadow of Venetians blinds against the wall, creating the appearance of prison bars, anticipating the fate of the characters, and also reflecting the fact that they are already imprisoned by their personalities and behaviours. Whether or not Wilder regarded it as film noir, there is no doubt that audiences and critics have come to regard it so, and as one of the very best examples of that genre. It was a brave film that helped to ease the way for other makers of thrillers to explore the darker side of human nature. I wrote a longer appreciation of Double Indemnity on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2018/01/19/double-indemnity-1944/

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/24/23

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Billy Wilder

Director

Fred MacMurray

Walter Neff

Barbara Stanwyck

Phyllis Dietrichson

Edward G. Robinson

Barton Keyes

Porter Hall

Mr. Jackson

Fortunio Bonanova

Sam Garlopis

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Double Indemnity: Official Clip - Keyes Smells a Murder

2:59

Double Indemnity: Official Clip - Goodbye, Baby

2:28

Double Indemnity: Official Clip - I Killed Him

2:01

Double Indemnity: Official Clip - I Love You Too

2:54

Double Indemnity: Official Clip - The End of the Line

2:52

Double Indemnity: Official Clip - A Red Hot Poker

2:32

Double Indemnity: Official Clip - How Fast Was I Going, Officer?

1:55

Double Indemnity: Official Clip - Murder's Never Perfect

1:00

Double Indemnity: Official Clip - A Claims Man

2:59

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Synopsis

In this classic film noir, insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) gets roped into a murderous scheme when he falls for the sensual Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who is intent on killing her husband (Tom Powers) and living off the fraudulent accidental death claim. Prompted by the late Mr. Dietrichson's daughter, Lola (Jean Heather), insurance investigator Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) looks into the case, and gradually begins to uncover the sinister truth.

Director: Billy Wilder
Producer: Buddy G. DeSylva
Screenwriter: James M. Cain, Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 6, 1944, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2014
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Mono

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