Double Indemnity
Directed by Billy Wilder • 1944 • United States
Starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
Has dialogue ever been more perfectly hard-boiled? Has a femme fatale ever been as deliciously wicked as Barbara Stanwyck? And has 1940s Los Angeles ever looked so seductively sordid? Working with cowriter Raymond Chandler, director Billy Wilder launched himself onto the Hollywood A-list with this epitome of film-noir fatalism from James M. Cain’s pulp novel. When slick salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) walks into the swank home of dissatisfied housewife Phyllis Dietrichson (Stanwyck), he intends to sell insurance, but he winds up becoming entangled with her in a far more sinister way. Featuring scene-stealing supporting work from Edward G. Robinson and the chiaroscuro of cinematographer John F. Seitz, DOUBLE INDEMNITY is one of the most entertainingly perverse stories ever told and the standard by which all noir must be measured.
-
Double Indemnity
Directed by Billy Wilder • 1944 • United States
Starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. RobinsonHas dialogue ever been more perfectly hard-boiled? Has a femme fatale ever been as deliciously wicked as Barbara Stanwyck? And has 1940s Los Angeles ever looked so seductively sordid? Wo...
Extras
-
DOUBLE INDEMNITY Commentary
This commentary track, recorded in 2006, features film critic Richard Schickel discussing the genesis of film noir and the differences between James M. Cain’s novel “Double Indemnity” and the screenplay for the film version.
-
Noah Isenberg on DOUBLE INDEMNITY
The following interview with film scholar Noah Isenberg, editor of “Billy Wilder on Assignment: Dispatches from Weimar Berlin and Interwar Vienna,” was recorded in Austin in February 2022.
-
Eddie Muller and Imogen Sara Smith on DOUBLE INDEMNITY
The following conversation between film scholars Eddie Muller and Imogen Sara Smith was recorded in February 2022. In it, they discuss why DOUBLE INDEMNITY is considered a “definitive” noir.
-
Shadows of Suspense
This 2006 documentary features authors, filmmakers, and film historians discussing film noir and the making of DOUBLE INDEMNITY.
-
BILLY, HOW DID YOU DO IT? Part 1
This three-part documentary about filmmaker Billy Wilder was directed by Volker Schlöndorff with Gisela Grischow and first aired on the BBC in 1992.
-
BILLY, HOW DID YOU DO IT? Part 2
This three-part documentary about filmmaker Billy Wilder was directed by Volker Schlöndorff with Gisela Grischow and first aired on the BBC in 1992.
-
BILLY, HOW DID YOU DO IT? Part 3
This three-part documentary about filmmaker Billy Wilder was directed by Volker Schlöndorff with Gisela Grischow and first aired on the BBC in 1992.
-
DOUBLE INDEMNITY on “The Screen Guild Theater,” 1945
DOUBLE INDEMNITY was adapted as a radio play four times. Presented here is a March 5, 1945, broadcast of “The Screen Guild Theater,” with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck reprising their roles from the film.
-
DOUBLE INDEMNITY on “Lux Radio Theatre,” 1950
DOUBLE INDEMNITY was adapted as a radio play four times. Presented here is an October 30, 1950, “Lux Radio Theatre” broadcast, starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck.
