Double Indemnity (1944) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe)

Double Indemnity (1944)



Smooth talking insurance salesman Walter Neff meets attractive Phyllis Dietrichson when he calls to renew her husband's automobile policy. The couple are immediately drawn to each other and an affair begins. They cook up a scheme to murder Mr. Dietrichson for life insurance money with a double indemnity clause. Unfortunately, all does not go to plan...



Fred MacMurray ... Walter Neff

Barbara Stanwyck ... Phyllis Dietrichson

Edward G. Robinson ... Barton Keyes

Porter Hall ... Mr. Jackson

Jean Heather ... Lola Dietrichson

Tom Powers ... Mr. Dietrichso

Byron Barr ... Nino Zachetti

Richard Gaines ... Edward S. Norton, Jr.

Fortunio Bonanova ... Sam Garlopis

John Philliber ... Joe Peters



Director: Billy Wilder



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036775/
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Codecs: DivX 3 / MP3



This is one of the best films of all time, not necessarily because of its story but because of the acting, direction, cinematography, lighting, and just the way that the story itself was told. At the time the film was released, the idea of revealing who the killer was in the opening scene was virtually unheard of, but it ended up being very effective because it allowed the audience to concentrate more on other elements of the film, which was the goal of Billy Wilder, the director. Instead of trying to figure out who the perpetrator was, there is more emphasis on how the crime was pulled off, what mistakes were made during the murder, who betrayed who, how close Barton Keyes (the insurance investigator) was getting to solving the case, and, probably most importantly, what kind of person Walter Neff is and whether or not sympathy should be felt toward him.



Barbara Stanwyck, in one of the most remembered performances of her extensive career, represents (with nearly flawless ease) the cold and ruthless manipulator who has no difficulty in ruining other people's lives in various ways (including death, if necessary) in order to get what she wants. Known in the film community as the `femme fatale,' this is someone who uses her sexual prowess, seductiveness, and emotional detachment to drag an unsuspecting person (generally an interested man) into a scheme from which she is expected to benefit heavily and he is most likely headed for destruction. In these types of films, the man often either finds his life in ruins or ends up dead, as is often (but not always) also the case with the fate of the femme fatale.



Barbara Stanwyck (as Phyllis Dietrichson, the murderous femme fatale in Double Indemnity) and Fred MacMurray (as Walter Neff, her ‘victim'), have amazing chemistry on screen. Their attraction is incredibly well portrayed, and the development of their relationship with each other is so convincing that what happens between them almost seems normal. Besides that, their mutually calculated interaction, although it seems at first like it has been rehearsed endlessly and ultimately brought unconvincingly to the screen, is exactly as it was meant to be, because it represents each character's intentions, even very subtly foreshadowing their future betrayals against each other. Phyllis has gone through every word she ever says to Walter in her head. She has practiced what she wants to say when she brings up the idea of life insurance to Walter in the beginning and she knows what she wants to say whenever they interact with each other because she has been planning for quite some time the prospect of murdering her husband in order to collect his fortune. Walter, conversely, methodically makes amorous advances as though this is something that he does regularly, and then ultimately he also plans out his conversations with Phyllis because he begins to suspect her and is sure to tell her only what he wants her to hear. This seemingly stiff dialogue brilliantly represents Phyllis and Walter's precise (and sinister) intentions, and it's quick pace creates a feeling of urgency and restlessness.



Probably the most fascinating and entertaining actor in the film, Edward G. Robinson, plays Barton Keyes, Walter's friend and employer at the insurance company where he works. Keyes is a very suspicious man who closely investigates the insurance claims which come into the company, having a striking history of accurately isolating fraudulent claims and throwing them out. His handling of Phyllis's (and Walter's, technically) claim and the way that he gets closer and closer to the truth create a great atmosphere of tension and drama.



Double Indemnity is nearly flawless. From the shocking and unexpected beginning to the already known but still surprising end, the audience is held rapt by the excellent performances, the brilliant and imaginative direction, and the flawlessly created atmosphere. This is excellent, excellent filmmaking, and is a classic film that should not be missed.



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DOUBLE INDEMNITY is as imperishably a part of 1940s film-making as CITIZEN KANE or CASABLANCA. Time has not taken its toll on this ultimate film noir. It is just as fresh and original today as it must have been innovative and shocking in 1944.



Fast and brutal, DOUBLE INDEMNITY is the best movie of its kind to emerge from the 1940s. Part of this is due to the fact that the screenplay is faithfully drawn from a very respectable source (a novella by James Cain) and what was added by screenwriters Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder is thoughtful, funny, and razor-sharp. The rest of it is due to the professionalism of Billy Wilder's direction and to the acting brilliance of a perfect cast.



As a director, Billy Wilder's forte is NOT farce. SOME LIKE IT HOT may be the funniest film ever made, but I have laughed just as much at Fred MacMurray's "That tears it!" than anything I've ever seen in a movie farce. What Wilder will be remembered for forever is his unforgettable series of heavy dramas with hints of humor or satire, like THE LOST WEEKEND, SUNSET BOULEVARD, and this gem. Like a master craftsman, he stamps his seal of excellence on every scene in the movie.



Fred MacMurray has never been better. The face is handsome yet wary, the quick voice can't quite disguise the tremulous anxiety underneath, and the searching eyes tell him he's found what he wants in a beautiful blonde with more on her mind than providing safety to her husband in the form of an insurance policy. Yet, tragically, he is still one of the screen's most notorious dimwits. He did it all for a dame, you see, and, well, you know the story. The Philadelphia story.



In the greatest work of her lifetime, Barbara Stanwyck defines femme fatale for all eternity. Calculating, never more beautifully threatening, she gives a magnificent performance. Listen closely as she says, "Could I get an insurance policy for him without bothering him at all," and you'll swear you can hear the gears in her head whirring. From her work in DOUBLE INDEMNITY alone, Miss Stanwyck would be rated one of the finest screen actresses of all time.



Is this possibly the richest looking film noir of them all? I hope the colorization fad is over. If anyone suggests DOUBLE INDEMNITY be colorized, I advise life imprisonment. This movie deserves to be seen forever and most assuredly will be, as the standard by which every other film of its kind is judged.



.....................................................................................................



DOUBLE INDEMNITY is as imperishably a part of 1940s film-making as CITIZEN KANE or CASABLANCA. Time has not taken its toll on this ultimate film noir. It is just as fresh and original today as it must have been innovative and shocking in 1944.



Fast and brutal, DOUBLE INDEMNITY is the best movie of its kind to emerge from the 1940s. Part of this is due to the fact that the screenplay is faithfully drawn from a very respectable source (a novella by James Cain) and what was added by screenwriters Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder is thoughtful, funny, and razor-sharp. The rest of it is due to the professionalism of Billy Wilder's direction and to the acting brilliance of a perfect cast.



As a director, Billy Wilder's forte is NOT farce. SOME LIKE IT HOT may be the funniest film ever made, but I have laughed just as much at Fred MacMurray's "That tears it!" than anything I've ever seen in a movie farce. What Wilder will be remembered for forever is his unforgettable series of heavy dramas with hints of humor or satire, like THE LOST WEEKEND, SUNSET BOULEVARD, and this gem. Like a master craftsman, he stamps his seal of excellence on every scene in the movie.



Fred MacMurray has never been better. The face is handsome yet wary, the quick voice can't quite disguise the tremulous anxiety underneath, and the searching eyes tell him he's found what he wants in a beautiful blonde with more on her mind than providing safety to her husband in the form of an insurance policy. Yet, tragically, he is still one of the screen's most notorious dimwits. He did it all for a dame, you see, and, well, you know the story. The Philadelphia story.



In the greatest work of her lifetime, Barbara Stanwyck defines femme fatale for all eternity. Calculating, never more beautifully threatening, she gives a magnificent performance. Listen closely as she says, "Could I get an insurance policy for him without bothering him at all," and you'll swear you can hear the gears in her head whirring. From her work in DOUBLE INDEMNITY alone, Miss Stanwyck would be rated one of the finest screen actresses of all time.



Is this possibly the richest looking film noir of them all? I hope the colorization fad is over. If anyone suggests DOUBLE INDEMNITY be colorized, I advise life imprisonment. This movie deserves to be seen forever and most assuredly will be, as the standard by which every other film of its kind is judged.



* The character Walter Neff was originally named Walter Ness, but director/writer Billy Wilder found out that there was a man living in Beverly Hills named Walter Ness who was actually an insurance salesman. To avoid being sued for defamation of character, they changed the name.



* The scene where Neff and Dietrichson can't get their car started after the murder was added by Wilder after his car wouldn't start at the end of a shooting day.



* Dick Powell wanted the role of Walter Neff, but he was under contract to another studio and they wouldn't allow it. He was enraged and tore up his contract. The role went to Fred MacMurray.



* In the scene where Phyllis is listening at Neffs's door as he talks with Keyes: As Keyes exits into the hallway and Phyllis hides behind the door, the door opens into the hallway which isn't allowed by building codes even back then, but it does give Phyllis something to hide behind and increases the tension.



* The blonde wig that Barbara Stanwyck is wearing throughout the movie was the idea of Billy Wilder. A month into shooting Wilder suddenly realized how bad it looked, but by then it was too late to re-shoot the earlier scenes. To rationalize this mistake, in later interviews Wilder claimed that the bad-looking wig was intentional.



* In the first scene in which Walter first kisses Phyllis, we see a wedding ring on Walter's hand. Fred MacMurray was married and the ring was not noticed until post-production.



* Billy Wilder had a tough time getting a leading man for this film; many actors, including George Raft turned the project down. He got Fred MacMurray partly because MacMurray wanted a change of pace from the comedic roles he was doing at the time.



* Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler did not get along well while writing this film's script, a process that was apparently filled with arguments. Wilder claimed that he flaunted his womanizing ability at the time to torment the sexually-repressed Chandler.



* When Raymond Chandler began writing the script with Billy Wilder, he hated the experience so much, he actually walked out on the job and would not return unless his list of demands was met. The demand were met and this script is the result.



* Author James M. Cain later admitted that if he had come up with some of the solutions to the plot that screenwriters Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler created, he would have employed them in his original novel.



* The movie was based on the novel by James M. Cain which in turn was based on the true story of Ruth Snyder.



* The victim, Mr. Dietrichson, is an oil company executive. Screenplay writer Raymond Chandler was an oil company executive before he became a writer.



* Silver dust was mixed with some subtle smoke effects to create the illusion of waning sunlight in Phyllis Dietrichson's house.



* Because James M. Cain was unavailable to help co-write the screenplay, Billy Wilder turned to Raymond Chandler, whose novel "The Big Sleep" Wilder much admired. The director was somewhat disappointed to find that Chandler was almost always drunk and smoked a very smelly pipe, though there was no doubting his ability to write some great hard-bitten dialog. Chandler's first attempts (this was his first film) at a screenplay included things like camera directions and suggestions for angles. Once Wilder had explained to him how the screenwriting process worked and what it entailed, the two managed to get along much better.



* We never learn the first name of Mr. Dietrichson.



* Barbara Stanwyck was the first choice to play Phyllis, but she was unnerved when seeing the role was of a ruthless killer. When she expressed her concern to Billy Wilder, he asked her "Are you a mouse or an actress?"



* On viewing the film's rushes, production head Buddy DeSylva remarked "We hired Barbara Stanwyck, and here we get George Washington!", referring to Stanwyck's blonde wig.



* Various studios expressed interest in the story when it first appeared in serial form in 1935 but realized it was unfilmable within the strictures of the newly-established Production Code.



* In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #29 Greatest Movie of All Time.



# SPOILER: Director Billy Wilder originally filmed an ending where Keyes watches Walter Neff go to the gas chamber.



# SPOILER: A different ending was shot, with Neff being caught by the police and executed while Keyes looks on in despair. Billy Wilder decided it would be poignant and fitting for both characters if instead Neff were to die in his office with Keyes by his side as he expressed his regret.



# SPOILER: The part of Walter Neff was originally offered to George Raft. He insisted that he would only take on the role if his character turned out to be an FBI agent at the end, entrapping Barbara Stanwyck's character. As this ran completely counter to James M. Cain's original novel, he naturally didn't get the part.