Many film noir scholars consider double indemnity to be the first true film noir, the first in a genre that was yet to be named when the film was released in 1944, seventyfive years ago. Watch walter and phyllis as they get together in a luminous white southern california superstore, sporting dark glasses, not shopping or still watching each other while plotting up plans for a homicide. He was known as a comedic writer but he wanted to do more. Men in fedoras walk mean streets shrouded in shadow and women are sometimes the sirens to beckon them to their doom. Film noir of this era is associated with a lowkey blackandwhite visual style that has roots in german expressionist cinematography. Cains 1943 novella of the same name, which originally appeared as an eightpart serial in liberty magazine, beginning in february 1936 the film stars fred macmurray as an insurance salesman. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in.
In film noir, elements like violence, sexual harassments, adultery, crime and greed are representatives of similar evil types in the society with a moral conflict emerging at the base of the plot gene 145. Double indemnity, american film noir, released in 1944, that was. Film analysis of double indemnity film studies essay. It is essential to understand the characteristics of film noir s aesthetic to appreciate double indemnity s richness. Considering the characteristics of film noir, the double indemnity film. Why is a film produced in 1944 the subgenres epitome when before that many supposedly noir films had been produced. Not only is double indemnity one of the archetypal films known as film noir but it is regarded by many as the first true film noir. Like billy wilders other coldblooded, consummate film noir, sunset. While films as disparate as fritz langs m 1931, orson welless citizen kane 1941, and hustons the maltese falcon all exhibit characteristics of noir, double indemnity was one of the first films to weave all those characteristics together. In film noir, exterior scenes in daylight are kept to a bare minimum. As such, it differs from other noir of the era, such as the romantic noir mildred pierce, also based on cains novel, and the big sleep, scripted by raymond chandler.
Double indemnity the opening sequence summary and analysis. Told in voiceover and through multiple flashbacks, double indemnity was the first of a cycle of films that broke openly with classical hollywoods. This is my second viewing of double indemnity, and my first time where i actually had to study it critically as part of my women in film class. Billy wilders 1944 double indemnity is one of the granddads of the wonderfully rich film noir genre. Double indemnity is a 1944 american film noir directed by billy wilder, cowritten by wilder and raymond chandler, and produced by buddy desylva and joseph sistrom. While there had been some intermittent films leading up to the birth of the classic noir, in 1944 the dahlia bloomed with six key films. The characters, scenario and stylistic elements of double indemnity all perfectly represent this group of hollywood films from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. In the classic black and white aesthetic, it goes further and turns up the darkness. Outdoors its nearly always night, while the interiors, at the dietrichson. Thus, rather than follow a corrupt policeman or a double dealing p. It has venetian blinds, hats and coats, pouring rain, and, of course, crime.
Schickel notes the films various detours from the source material, many. Fred macmurray and barbara stanwyck in a superbly crafted scene from billy wilders 1944 film noir classic, double indemnity. Double indemnity film wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. In 1938, walter neff, an experienced salesman of the pacific all risk insurance co. Wilders double indemnity was one of the earlier films noir. Infobox film double indemnity is a 1944 film noir directed by billy wilder, cowritten by wilder and raymond chandler, and produced by buddy desylva and joseph sistrom. Anchored in the film noir s aestheticism, its lowkey lighting, oppressive music, sharp dialogues and breathtaking performances achieve to make this film an unavoidable classic. Double indemnity is 75, but anklets and film noir are forever double indemnity is classic film noir. With this statement, we begin to understand one of the reasons why double indemnity is regarded so highly and is considered the subgenres prototype. The phrase film noir was first coined in 1946 by a group of french critics to describe the emerging movement of mainly black and white hollywood films with dark, pessimistic themes and signature motifs such as alienated antiheroes, rain slicked streets, dark. Double indemnity is 75, but anklets and film noir are. Early examples of the noir style include dark, stylized detective films such as john hustons the maltese falcon 1941, frank tuttles this gun for hire 1942, otto premingers laura 1944, and edward dmytryks murder, my sweet 1944. Wouldbe lover and coconspirator walter neff a grimfaced fred. Double indemnity was directed by billy wilder who used his movie making instincts to create a classic film noir all others would be measured by.
Two of the biggest noir elements in double indemnity are the femme fatale and antihero. It is essential to understand the characteristics of film noirs aesthetic to appreciate double indemnitys richness. Dietrichson persuades harmless insurance agent walter neff to first take out a. This trend that emerged in the early 1940s to reflects the fear, confusion and of a decade at war. Double indemnity critics debate whether double indemnity was the first true film noir, but the real question may be what took so long for billy wilders 1944 pic to finally get the deluxe dvd. Double indemnity, laura, murder my sweet, phantom lady, when strangers marry, and the woman in the window. An insurance representative lets himself be talked by a seductive housewife into a murderinsurance fraud scheme that arouses the suspicion of an insurance investigator. Directed by billy wilder and adapted from a james m. This film was nominated for seven academy awards, but it did not win any prize. Film noir of this era is associated with a lowkey, blackandwhite visual style that has roots in german. Double indemnity is an important and some say the first example of a genre of films called film noir. Double indemnity 1944 is the perfect film noir, filled with deception, crime, forbidden love, and suspense. Double indemnity as a film noir classic film studies essay. Double indemnity is arguably the first film that unapologetically played noir for what it wassmall time, unredeemed, unheroic, deadly, and macabre.
Double indemnity 1944 summary, analysis jotted lines. This film has the perfect cast, with characters who are very believable in their respective roles. I love double indemnity because its about a couple who are cheap and greedy, but. Set to the unforgettably dramatic and alternately mysterious musical score of miklos rozsa, thus opens billy wilders classic film noir double indemnity. Everett collection rex features the film was shot by john seitz like a textbook noir.
The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the classic period of american film noir. The urgentlytold, highlystylized story was wilders third film after the major and the minor 1942 and five graves to cairo 1943. It crackles with sardonic dialogue, as in the couples first charged. Unlike western or historical drama, noir was not a term that filmmakers of the 1940s would have used. Interior scenes are often filled with smoke and shadows, symbolizing the cloudy layers of deceit and secrecy that often accompany the interpersonal. Cain novel by wilder and raymond chandler, double indemnity represents the highwater mark of 1940s film noir urban crime dramas in which a. The golden age of film noir the cinema of the disenchanted. In fact, film noir is a genre within the cinema of disillusionment and the two great keys to understand the importance of this hollywood subgenre are darkness and cynicism.
Double indemnity is a film noir directed by billy wilder in 1944, and it was based on the novel of the same name double indemnity which was published in 1943. Banned in occupied countries during the war, these films became available throughout. The 1944 film double indemnity is everything that classic film noir could possibly be. A third and last dominant idea is the visual references to a double, meaning that there is the idea of the mans shadow as the symbol of the. Double indemnity innovating a film noir cinematography. One point not in contention, however, is the importance of 1944s double indemnity star starstarstar to the development of film noir. Double indemnity breaks one of the cardinal rules of storytellingwe know the final outcome in the first seven minutes. Comparison of noir and neo noir themes in the films double. Double indemnity billy wilders double indemnity 1944 wasnt the first film noir, but it was the beginning of a new phase in miklos rozsas already stellar career. Double indemnity phyllis and walters splendid first meeting duration. The attempt of this overview is to discuss the similarities, differences and influences of noir film and neo noir film and analyzed how they have evolved taking double indemnity and chinatown and as generic examples. The phrase film noir was first coined in 1946 by a group of french critics to describe the emerging movement of mainly black and white. Walter neff in double indemnity most critics declare film noir as a hollywood subgenre that had its golden age during the period ranging from the end of the 1930s to the 1950s. Any recommendations for other good film noir from the 1940s and 1950s.
Men in fedoras walk mean streets shrouded in shadow and women are sometimes the sirens to beckon. In these films you have many of the key figures in noir making some of their first forays into the genre directors billy. Analysis of the film double indemnity 2728 words bartleby. Thats why to the most attentive viewer, the first and only moment they are together is the moment walter kills phyllis. Double indemnity is the most excellent example of a noir film to date. An example of typical raymond chandler dialogue in the script. Cain s 1943 novella of the same name, which originally appeared as an eightpart serial in liberty magazine. Wilders first few films as a director in hollywood showed no signs of the shadowy world of film noir he would help create. Film noir protagonists are often flawed officials like private detectives or plainclothes cops, but double indemnity is unique in that it superimposes the investigative thrust of the film noir genre on to the professional world of insurance claims. Double indemnity 1944 is director billy wilders classic film noir masterpiece a cynical, witty, and sleazy thriller about adultery, corruption and murder. The tuesday screening will be hosted by film criticteacher jonathan miller, who.
He was to get half on signing and the other half if the script was approved by the hays office. Cains 1943 novella of the same name, which originally appeared as an eightpart serial in liberty magazine, beginning in february 1936 contents. Its the right fit for the hard urban atmosphere and dialogue created by cain, chandler, and the other writers edmund wilson called the. The photography by john seitz helped develop the noir style of sharpedged shadows and shots, strange angles and lonely edward hopper settings. Film noir is a category that is very difficult to define, however, and people define it in different ways. Wilder was one of the european directors that noir is so often associated with and he would. The first time i saw the movie was for an earlier film class and while i enjoyed it, i didnt consider it anything special it was certainly no big sleep in watching it a second time i enjoy it far more, but its. Supplements ported over from the dualdisc dvd released by universal in 2006 include two audio commentary tracks, the first by richard schickel, who explains the development of film noir as a hollywood genre and double indemnity s place in it as the first true noir film. Seitz to film double indemnity, and together they produced a visual aesthetic that became a template for film noir style. Double indemnity is 75, but anklets and film noir are forever. Shes seductive, manipulative, and morally ambiguous.
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