Double Indemnity

Name: Double Indemnity
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Released: 1944-07-06
Duration: 1 h 47 min
Rating: 8.3
Cast: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Porter Hall, Jean Heather

It's love and murder at first sight!

Double Indemnity (1944)

Timing: 1:47 (107 min)

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8.3/10
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Everything about the movie

Video 7

Photo 111

Actors and characters

Video for the film Double Indemnity — Double Indemnity - Trailer

2:16

Photo 111

Release date

Country

Production

Genre

Budget

$927 262

Box office

$2 672

Website

Director

Billy Wilder

Actors

Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Porter Hall, Jean Heather, Tom Powers, Byron Barr, Richard Gaines, Fortunio Bonanova, John Philliber
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Joseph Sistrom, Buddy G. DeSylva

Camera operator

John F. Seitz

Composer

Miklós Rózsa

Artist

David S. Hall

Audition

Harvey Clermont

Editing

Doane Harrison
Whole Team (39)

Short description

A rich woman and a calculating insurance agent plot to kill her unsuspecting husband after he signs a double indemnity policy. Against a backdrop of distinctly Californian settings, the partners in crime plan the perfect murder to collect the insurance, which pays double if the death is accidental.

What's left behind the scenes

In the scene where Neff kisses Phyllis, a wedding ring can be noticed on his finger. The fact is that MacMurray was married and had long been accustomed to not paying attention to the ring.
Wilder wrote the screenplay together with the famous detective author Raymond Chandler. They had a hard time getting along with each other, often argued, and once Chandler slammed the door and left, stating that he would only return when his demands were met. His demands were met, and he returned.
Billy Wilder had very little time to find an actor for the lead role. But one after another, many Hollywood actors (such as George Raft) refused him. Only Fred MacMurray agreed – partly because he had long wanted to shed the tiresome image of a comedic performer.
In one scene, Neff and Keyes walk into the foyer and continue their conversation in the hallway. Neff holds open a door slightly ajar, behind which Phyllis is hiding at that moment. However, according to all fire safety regulations, in such a building, the door cannot open outwards – only inwards.
For the role of Phyllis, the director wanted only Barbara Stanwyck. However, she seriously doubted whether she should play such a ruthless vixen. Then Wilder asked her: “Are you a mouse or an actress?”
The protagonist was originally named Walter Ness in the script. However, Wilder learned in time that a real insurance agent named Walter Ness lived in Beverly Hills. To avoid accusations of libel, the character's name was changed to Walter Neff.
One shot captures screenwriter Raymond Chandler, who accidentally wandered into the camera's frame.
Wilder invited Chandler as a co-author, as he was impressed by his novel 'The Big Sleep'. He was disappointed to find that Chandler was withdrawn, perpetually drunk, smoked like a locomotive, incapable of coming up with snappy dialogue and, moreover, as Wilder claimed, constantly tried to inject his sexual frustration into the script. This was Chandler's first attempt to work for the cinema.
Initially, Billy Wilder planned to end the film with a scene where Keyes watches Neff being sent to the gas chamber.
The film is based on the novel of the same name by James M. Cain. Cain’s work is based on a real crime from 1927 that shook all of America.
Of all the actors Wilder approached, only Dick Powell wanted to play the role of Walter. But he was under contract with another company, which refused to release him. An enraged Powell broke his contract, but it was too late – the role had already gone to MacMurray.
Production period: September 27 – November 24, 1943.
Of all the actors Wilder approached, only Dick Powell wanted to play the role of Walter. But he was under contract with another company, which refused to release him. An angered Powell broke his contract, but it was too late – the role had already gone to MacMurray.
Billy Wilder had very little time to find someone for the lead role. But one after another, many Hollywood actors (such as George Raft) turned him down. Only Fred MacMurray agreed – partly because he had long wanted to get rid of the tiresome image of a comedic performer.
After the murder, Walter and Phyllis struggle to start the car for a long time. Wilder added this scene after his own car failed to start all day.
Billy Wilder made Barbara Stanwyck wear a white wig throughout the film. Later, he decided that the wig looked bad, unnatural, but it was too late to redo anything. And in interviews, Wilder stated that he deliberately made the wig look bad on Stanwyck. Producer Buddy J. DeSilva, alluding to the wig, quipped: “We hired Barbara Stanwyck and got George Washington.”
Mr. Dietrichson, Phyllis's husband, works in an oil company. This was Chandler's invention, as he himself worked as an 'oilman' for a while.
In the third episode of the fifth season of the series 'House of Cards', the main characters, Francis and Claire Underwood, watch this film on election day.
Another potential finale could have been a scene where Case desperately watches as Neff is arrested by the police. However, Wilder decided that Case's desperation could only be explained if Neff died in his arms.
In 1992, the Library of Congress included "Double Indemnity" in the National Film Registry.
The first script drafts appeared in 1935, but were blocked by censors of the Hays Code, who deemed the story immoral.
George Raft was willing to play the role of Neff only on one condition – if it turned out in the finale that his character was an FBI agent trapping Phyllis Dietrichson. The demand was absurd; Wilder had to abandon Raft's candidacy.