X
- 1944
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 47 m
- 1944
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 47 m
Summary An insurance representative lets himself be talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigator's suspicions.
Directed By: Billy Wilder
Written By: Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Billy Wilder
- 1944
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 47 m
- 1944
- Approved
- Paramount Pictures
- 1 h 47 m
Double Indemnity
8.6
Where to Watch
Summary An insurance representative lets himself be talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigator's suspicions.
Directed By: Billy Wilder
Written By: Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Billy Wilder
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
95
94% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
6% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
95
94% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
6% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
With diamond-hard repartee by Wilder and Raymond Chandler (by way of James M Cain’s novel) and ghoulish cinematography by the great John Seitz, this is the gold standard of ’40s noir, straight down the line.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 78 User Ratings
8.6
95% Positive
74 Ratings
74 Ratings
5% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 78 User Ratings
8.6
95% Positive
74 Ratings
74 Ratings
5% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Absolutely astonishing quality of script, direction, production values and some astronomical central acting from Stanwyck, who chews up the sets and her scenes with such skill and professional gravitas that she seems to lamp out of the screen at you, leaving you transfixed, mesmerised and deeply impressed.
This gem of a noir movie is groundbreaking, with a cut to the marrow script and the actors locking on to the central plot like they had lived it for real. This is the very best any movie can get - any genre. I defy anyone to compare it to any other noir movie ever made. Simply sublime perfection and definitely right up there in the top ten best movies ever made.
Highly Recommended.
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O eterno clássico do cinema noir dirigido pelo incontornável Billy Wilder. Já o vi há uns anitos mas ficou-me na memória como umas das melhores fitas que vi. Aqui temos todos os elementos do noir de forma perfeita: história não convencional, personagens com moral duvidosa, femme fatale como antagonista, fotografia impecável, iconografia inconfundível, narrador em 2º plano e claro um protagonista caído em desgraça, mergulhado numa narrativa fatalista…
Destaque ainda para o actor principal Fred MacMurray, que consegue fazer qualquer um aproximar-se do anti-herói desta história.
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Superlative crime yarn adapted with precision and skill from the classic James M. Cain novel.
I love Double Indemnity because it's about a couple who are cheap and greedy, but achieve a kind of tragic heroism; because it has one of the great father-son relationships (although they aren't actually father and son); because it's a thoroughly cynical thriller redeemed by just a fading touch of romance. And it also has a trio of superb performances.
Film noir is the most intoxicating of Hollywood cocktails, and none is more potent than Double Indemnity...It breaks the rules of filmmaking with breathtaking confidence and is all the more satisfying for
Wilder trades Cain's sun-rot imagery for conventional film noir stylings, but the atmosphere of sexual entrapment survives.
Such folks as delight in murder stories for their academic elegance alone should find this one steadily diverting, despite its monotonous pace and length...But the very toughness of the picture is also the weakness of its core, and the academic nature of its plotting limits its general appeal.
One of the best filmed and recognized movies of all time. Double Indemnity explores the depths of greed and lust and was the film that mainstreamed the femme fatale. Wonderfully acted and as gritty as they come.
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My favorite film noir. Instantly rewatcable tale of greed and lust that pulls no punches. Barbara Stanwyck rules the summit of femme fatales. So much fun watching Fred MacMurray, who thinks he's the smartest man in the room, and then slowly realizes he is the biggest chump of all. Edward G Robinson's calm clear, headed insurance investigator nicely contrasts all the wacky sinful deeds going on.
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With overtones of moral failure that almost make you remorse on behalf of the protagonist, undertones of lust, crackling dialogue that's as cynical as it's extremely classy and sharp-witted, a grim atmosphere of impending doom created by the stunning black-and-white photography, it's safe to say that my first Billy Wilder has all the trademarks of film-noir.
That said, I wouldn't be wrong in saying that this film is kinda subversive; only on its own terms. In saying that, I mean that the jaw-dropping nuances Wilder has sizzled this film with, and the painstaking attention to details gave Double Indemnity unique taste, and made it stand out from all the films of its kind. Giving away the plot synopsis usually tarnishes the experience of watching your typical film noir because the toughness of them are their small details, let alone doing so with this one in addition to explaining why I find the subtlety of it so mesmerizing. Watch Double Indemnity and you’ll know what I mean straight away!
Alas, It seems that this very meticulous attention to detail came at the expense of making the most important the most crucial moments and the turning points convincing. The academic nature of the film's plotting made a lot of decisive moments a bit hard to swallow. It also made the movie drag, surprisingly, at what should have been the most intriguing part.
All the performances here are fine, but it's Edward G. Robinson who steals the show for me. He plays the quick-witted, determined investigator, Barton Keyes, who may be a bit too smart and clever to be believable; but thanks to Robinson's fierce performance, Keyes hands down is my favorite character in the movie.
Double Indemnity is an extremely well-crafted moody crime film that transcends the nature of its plotting with an unprecedented, unmatched, unsurpassable subtlety that made the main characters lifelike, and made the story thought-provoking in the first place. It raised the bar and set the standard for film-noir making at its time, and continues to inspire every neo-noir film, nay every crime film to this day.
(8.5/10)
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Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 7 Nominations
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• 2 Nominations
National Film Preservation Board, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
