Posted on 04/20/2020 6:43:37 PM PDT by simpson96
Double Indemnity is a 1944 American film noir directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay was based on James M. Cain's 1943 novella of the same name.
The film stars Fred MacMurray as an insurance salesman, Barbara Stanwyck as a provocative housewife who wishes her husband were dead, and Edward G. Robinson as a claims adjuster whose job is to find phony claims. The term "double indemnity" refers to a clause in certain life insurance policies that doubles the payout in rare cases when the death is accidental, such as falling off a train.
Praised by many critics when first released, Double Indemnity was nominated for seven Academy Awards but did not win any. Widely regarded as a classic, it often is cited as having set the standard for film noir.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
I’ve never found Barbara Stanwyck likeable, or attractive, I think because she strongly resembles a relative who was not a nice person.
NORMAN !!! NORMANNNNN.
You need to see Barbara in much earlier movies (Ball of Fire) where she was much more feminine.
Barbara would have made a good ‘Hillary’ character, had one existed back then. Something in between Joan Crawford and
Baby Jane, I mean Bette Davis.
Yes, she's very hard-edged and unappealing, at least to me.
I know she had a good reputation in Hollywood.
Look at that photo up top.
The camera focus is clear and realistic with Fred.
Same scene shows Barbara in a soft, indistinct cloud.
A very idealized view of what a woman should be.
Barbara was not usually a soft or indistinct person in her roles. Rumor is actress Mae West had the director smear Vaseline on the camera lense that was pointed at her for close ups.
I watched this movie about a month ago.
It’s a long way for Fred McMurry’s character in this film to being the father in ‘my 3 sons.’
She was one of those women who have a very short hotness period...Betty Davis had an even shorter one.
Great film!
I also like Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment”
MacMurray played a very unsympathetic role in “The Apartment”
it was quite a change from his Disney films like “Flubber” or “Follow me Boys”
My fav director is John Ford but Wilder is a close second.
Actors liked working with her because of her professionalism and willingness to work with unknowns.
She was also a leading conservative Republican in her days.
I spend every evening with the Noir films on Youtube. They are good, with the exception of a few that are real bad, by what appears to be inexperienced movie makers. They leave me with the opinion that Ed Wood wasn’t that bad. The big name actor ones are all good.
Teenage boys should watch this film to find out how women operate : )
Got it on the DVR. Billy Wilder, you just can’t go wrong. But this film is a stand alone.
He was good in “The Princess Comes Across”, with Carole Lombard.
I don’t see it on youtube, though. We made a DVD of it when we had TCM.
The best scene is Edward G Robinson telling the owner will have to pay
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mjpZqElhGms
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