Directed by Billy Wilder, the 1944 film Double Indemnity, follows the classic film-noir trope throughout its every facet. Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), a successful insurance salesman, fits the weak protagonist role that exists within many films of this particular genre. Neff is relatively socially isolated, and is therefore easily manipulated by those he interacts with. We see this early on in the film when Neff lays eyes on femme fatale, Phyllis Dietrichson, while making an automobile policy house call. He is immediately titillated by Phyllis, a beautiful young woman, who is attempting to purchase life insurance for her husband without his knowledge. Soon, Phyllis and Neff are partners in a diabolical plan to murder Mr. Dietrichson, in order to receive a large insurance claim so that Phyllis can be free from her weak and insufferable marriage and take on Neff as her lover. Everything seems to go according to plan until Neff’s colleague, Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), who is known to be adept at solving insurance fraud cases, catches on to their scheme.
Double Indemnity takes place in Los Angeles, California. Just as many other film noirs, Double Indemnity is filmed in black and white and has distinct light contrasts. Shots of automobiles driving are often very dark, with the lights shining so bright, they become the focal point. This is because the night scenes were actually filmed during the evening (known as night-for-night), which was uncommon during the 1940s. Film noirs, which are almost always filmed in an urban setting, have various industrial elements in them, particularly when the crime is being committed. Although most of the scenes from the film are shot in either Walter Neff’s apartment, the Dietrichson’s Spanish-style home, or the insurance office, the crime committed takes place on a train that is going through an industrial area.
Another common trope that Double Indemnity fulfills is the pessimistic worldview that film noirs often portray. Phyllis and Neff are both morally ambivalent characters, risking their livelihood so they can be together. Neff endangers his career and virtually destroys the trust that Keyes had in him, simply because he was wooed by Phyllis, the great dame. Phyllis, who appears to have no morals whatsoever, allegedly killed her husband’s former wife, then her husband himself, turning on Neff in the end, all for her own personal and financial objectives. Phyllis and Neff’s corrupt intentions (murder and fraud), are to be rewarded in vice (sex and money), until they fulfill each other’s demise. Characters in film noirs often have an ill-starred fate, usually by death, but incarceration and/or heart break are not uncommon genre standards.
Double Indemnity fulfills the film noir trope in nearly every way. This is not a bad thing. Double Indemnity seeks to stroke the anxieties and feelings of isolation felt after World War II, while presenting the moral ambiguity of individuals, who are corrupted and motivated by vice.
Angela Amato 