Double Indemnity
Dir: Billy Wilder
1944
*****
When a script is written by both Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler, how can it not be anything but brilliant. It is based on James M .Cain's 1943 hit novel that was inspired by a real case that he had covered when he was a young journalist. The Ruth Snyder case was one of the biggest news stories of 1927 and after she and her boyfriend were caught and convicted of killing her husband (after taking out a huge insurance policy with an added Double Indemnity clause), she was given the electric chair, the photo taken of her moments before the lethal volt is regarded as the most famous News photo of the decade. Barbara Stanwyck was cast in the role of manipulative Wife with money and murder on her mind and Fred MacMurray plays the boyfriend and the insurance salesman that sells the insurance policy with added Double Indemnity, which ties up the story quite nicely, as he know exactly how to commit the perfect murder and get away with it. The film is narrated by MacMurray's character Walter Neff in the classic Raymond Chandler manner, the film playing out as he confesses all. Both MacMurray and Stanwyck deliver brilliantly memorable performances as does co-star Edward G. Robinson who plays Neff's colleague Barton Keyes, a claims adjuster who is in charge of investigating the policy. The idea behind the murder, involving body-doubles and a train (Double Indemnity clauses basically pay out twice the amount when someone dies on public transport) are master works of crime writing, giving the great Alfred Hitchcock a real run for his money in 1944 (although Double Indemnity and Hitchcock's Lifeboat both lost out in the 17th Academy awards). Billy Wilder's direction is one of the best examples of film noir at its most exquisite. It's an unbeatable classic, it's the best noir, best crime thriller, has the best acting...the list goes on. Essential viewing.