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Actors: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Double Indemnity |
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It is 1938 in LA. Walter Neff, a top insurance salesman (MacMurray), falls for the bored, sharp-talking wife (Stanwyck) of an oilman and goes in with her on a murder and insurance fraud scheme. The plan seems fool-proof, but Walter's colleague and mentor (Robinson) smells a rat and unravels part of the plot; the question is, who loves who, and who's going to get caught? Based on a James M. Cain novel, director Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler cooked up a smart-talking screenplay for this 1944 classic of film noir (remade for TV in 1973 with Richard Crenna and Samantha Eggar, and the obvious inspiration for 1981's "Body Heat"). Some of the acting's a little creaky, but the camera work and dialogue are snappy and arresting. Stanwyck is keen and cold-hearted, MacMurray charming and likable as a man who's not dumb but not as smart as he'd like to think.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Double Indemnity |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
How difficult to spot villain?
- Story partially from villain's perspective
Time/Era of Movie:
- 1930's-1950's
Murder Mystery?
Yes
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 90%
Crime & Police Story?
Yes
Crime story:
- white collar fraud/theft
If this is a criminal POV story...
- criminals killing each other
- bad criminals on the run
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Events of movie makes character more...
- cynical
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- businessman, big
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
Body type
- fat (man)
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
City?
Yes
City:
- Los Angeles
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
- moving train
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately messy visuals of dead
Movie makes you feel...
- challenged
How many deaths in film?
- 2
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references only
- kissing
How much use of techno gadgets?
- 1 ()
Kind of violence:
- guns
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
- blunt clubbing (like seals)
Check here if B&W
Yes
Any profanity?
- None
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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