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)

8.3/10
198 416

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no scores

8.1/10
2095

8.3/10
181000

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Everything about the movie

Video 7

Photo 123

Actors and characters

Video for the film Double Indemnity — Double Indemnity - Trailer

2:15

Photo 123

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

An insurance representative is seduced by a dissatisfied housewife into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, a claims investigator.

What's left behind the scenes

One shot captures screenwriter Raymond Chandler, who accidentally wandered into the camera's frame.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?”
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 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.
Production period: September 27 – November 24, 1943.
Initially, Billy Wilder planned to end the film with a scene where Keyes watches Neff being sent to the gas chamber.
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 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 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.
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.
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 1992, the Library of Congress included "Double Indemnity" in the National Film Registry.
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.
The first script drafts appeared in 1935, but were blocked by censors of the Hays Code, who deemed the story immoral.
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.
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.