Director Billy Wilder's film noir classic, co-written by Raymond Chandler and based on the hardboiled novel by James M. Cain....
Director Billy Wilder's film noir classic, co-written by Raymond Chandler and based on the hardboiled novel by James M. Cain. Widely regarded as one of the genre's finest, Double Indemnity was ranked the 29th best American film of all time by the American Film Institute in 2007.
Fred MacMurray is insurance salesman Walter Neff who, after falling for the sultry Phyllis (Barbara Stanwyck), is persuaded to attempt the "perfect crime". They conspire to kill Phyllis' husband, make it look like an accident, and collect on his life insurance policy. While the plan goes smoothly, Neff's suspicious boss Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) smells something fishy...
The term 'double indemnity' refers to a clause in life insurance policies that doubles the payout when a death is accidental.
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Where to watch Double Indemnity
97 %110 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® rating
95 %35,981 reviewsAudience score rating
"MacMurray has seldom given a better performance. It is somewhat different from his usually light roles, but is always plausible and played with considerable restraint."
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Variety
Variety"This is the gold standard of '40s noir, straight down the line."
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Time Out
Time Out"Such folks as delight in murder stories for their academic elegance alone should find this one steadily diverting, despite its monotonous pace and length."
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The New York Times
The New York Times"If you like your dialogue hardboiled, your lighting shadowy, and your femmes fatales preposterously evil, then look no further."
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The Guardian
The Guardian"Few other directors have made so many films that were so taut, savvy, cynical and, in many different ways and tones, funny."
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Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert"The film is a brilliant collision of evil and the mundane, and one of the reasons viewers respond to it so well is that it makes the mundane seem a little sexier in the resulting debris."
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Hollywood Reporter
Hollywood Reporter"Film noir at its finest, a template of the genre, etc. Billy Wilder in full swing, Barbara Stanwyck's finest hour, and Fred MacMurray makes a great chump."
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Empire Magazine
Empire MagazineDouble Indemnity | Details
- Runtime
- 103
- Genre
- Drama, Thriller
- Country of origin
- USA
