TCM Pick O’ The Day: Thursday, January 15th
by John Nolte
9:30pm PST – Double Indemnity (1944) – An insurance salesman gets seduced into plotting a client’s death. Cast: Porter Hall , Fred MacMurray , Edward G. Robinson , Barbara Stanwyck Dir: Billy Wilder BW-108 mins, TV-PG
Generally, these daily recommendations won’t include the obvious. You don’t need anyone to tell you to watch Casablanca or Ben-Hur or Double Indemnity. It’s just that when it comes to Barbara Stanwyck my self-control wavers slightly. My wife thinks I obsess over Stanwyck, which is silly. The nearly completed time machine is only so we can be friends. Then of course I’ll kill Hitler.
Double Indemnity is based on a novel by James M. Cain, who’s also responsible for the films Mildred Pierce in 1945 and The Postman Always Rings Twice in ‘46. Between the three there are more unexpected, yet credible plot turns than you will see in all of 2009. The books were loaded with sex and didn’t always meet other production code standards, but all three were brilliantly adapted for the screen and the first, today’s pick, is the best of an elite trio.
Stanwyck plays Phyllis Dietrichson, a young woman married to a wealthy, older man. Fred MacMurray is Walter Neff, the sap who shows up to sell insurance but ends up selling his soul to get a closer look at an ankle bracelet. There’s hot, steamy, adulterous sex in the subtext and the planning of a nearly perfect murder. Unfortunately, there’s also Barton Keyes, Neff’s boss, played beautifully by Edward G. Robinson, who has a ‘little man’ capable of smelling most any rat.
Give it a try, but I lost track of the plot twists after 14. It’s amazing to watch how the smallest of plot details pays off later in the largest of ways. And the dialogue is second-to-none. Blunt and bruising, but that’s what you get when you bring on Raymond Chandler to help write the script.
Watch Stanwyck and Robinson. Two extraordinary actors, not just at the top of their game, but the art of acting as a whole. Did you know neither won a performance Academy Award? But George Clooney has. Where’s your god now? MacMurray’s just as good, however, playing a guy not half as smart as he thinks he is. Of course, neither are we. The beauty of Double Indemnity is that every single bit of the real story happens off-screen.
I’d write about the two other films MacMurray and Stanwyck made together, but Fed-X is here with the flux capacitor.
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26 Comments
This is a great film and I don’t think Cain ever got the lasting props he deserved in this genre. Characters don’t have to be likeable or heroic to be interesting, and Phyllis and Walter Neff are riveting anti-heroes. something that is really hard to do. Ironically, the most famous of his works (Postman) is the least of the batch in my opinion. Love Mildred Pierce and DI to death (heh).
“The nearly completed time machine is only so we can be friends.”
NOT IF I DO IT FIRST!!!
MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!
John, don’t let the obvious choices stop you from commenting on them. I love hearing your take on films and the conversations they generate here in the comments, especially now that there is such a large stable of interesting people to also chime in. Of course I fully expect you to pick the hidden gem when faced with the choice, but still…
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptIronically, the most famous of his works (Postman) is the least of the batch in my opinion. Love Mildred Pierce and DI to death (heh). Kit – January 14th, 2009 at 8:32 pm. “The nearly completed time machine is only so we can be friends. … Read the rest of this great post here Posted in Uncategorized on January 14th, 2009 | [...]
Mildred Pierce – before we Gen-Xers knew it was a movie, we knew it as a Sonic Youth song.
I am a huge fan of Cain and have most of his books in First Edition. I would argue that each of the three films are equal in writing, casting and performances. They all stand alone as masterpieces of the genre.
Kudos as well for R.I.P. RICARDO MONTALBAN…the videos are fabulous…and I liked that Esther Williams movie.
I think what you are doing with Big Hollywood is remarkable and so much fun. For those of us who love the
“Golden Age of Hollywood” everyday has become a sweet surprise thanks to Big Hollywood.
Cheers…MB
Just read Cain’s “Double Indemnity” last year. One of the great things about going to the books is that they aren’t the same as the movies (partly, but not wholely because of the production code), so even if you’ve seen the films, you’re in for surprises.
It’s a rare writer that has the good fortune in adaptations that Cain had. But the film makers who got to adapt Cain’s work were very fortunate as well.
It may not be easy to find, but Fred MacMurray was also in a movie called "Borderline" where he played a federal agent, with Raymond Burr as the mobster he chases into Mexico and Claire Trevor as leading lady (I forget what her character is doing there, but it doesn't matter.) The movie itself is as bad as they come but the cast seems to be having such a good time making the best of it in an obvious turkey that it's actually fun to watch.
Speaking of Claire Trevor, she and Lawrence Tierney are another great pair of scheming lovers in "Born to Kill". And they also have an investigating nemesis, played to droll perfection by Walter Slezak.
For all the talk these days about nuance and realism etc. hardly any movies today generate the raw emotional power that seems second nature to the films and music of the 40's and 50's.
Ah, the first Stanwyck post! Some of you guys who are new to Mr. Nolte’s writing (I’m a holdover from his old place) are in for a treat. I don’t always agree with them but he writes great reviews. And I’m waiting for more “filmmaking 101″ articles too.
Hell, I’m only 25 and if you asked me about my celebrity crush, my answer would be “Barbara Stanwyck circa 1941 when she did The Lady Eve and Ball of Fire!”
I know what you mean. Gawd, she rawcks! I just received the Stanwyck Signature Collection yesterday, and I’m in heaven.
It was Cain, who turned to his bookcases after having a visitor sympathize that ‘Hollywood had just ruined his books’.
“No,” he said “they’re still there.”
Youngest d. read “Gone With the Wind” while recovering from her wisdom teeth. She is ready to watch the movie. I’ll be interested in what she thinks.
Great as the two of them are in DI (and I think it may be McMurray’s best role)- let’s not forget Edward G. Robinson, as Neff’s boss.
Stanwyck fans should be sure to see the recent-to-DVD pre-code “Night Nurse,” (1931) costarring Joan Blondell and Clark Gable.
The thing about Stanwyck is that she isn’t conventionally very good looking. (I know, all the men will jump on me for that, but guys, it’s true.) She’s not the beauty that Hedy Lamarr or Ava Gardner were — women so lovely that you acknowledge it even if they aren’t your type. She’s not bodacious — she’s petite and a bit on the flat-chested side. I really think in Stanwyck’s case it’s some other quality. She has charisma and talent in spades, but so do a lot of stars. There’s something else that I can’t quite put my finger on, but it may be related to some impression she gives of being ready to go to any extreme without blinking an eye. That may be why her classic films tend to be noir or screwball comedy — people go to extremes in those genres, effortlessly and without really thinking it through. Intelligent people in real life tend to be more risk averse than that — they do’t get themselves into crazy situations so much because they think about it first. She seems like a very smart women who nevertheless flings herself into the messiest spots, and that cognitive dissonance is spellbinding.
John, don’t assume everytone knows how good these movies are. DI is a classic but the most amazing thing is that it didn’t win any Oscars (well maybe not so surprising) and MacMurray and Robinson weren’t even nominated. Robinson’s speech about the methods of suicide alone was worth an Oscar.
In my opinion, Robinson and MacMurray are the two best actors never to be nominated and Stanwyck never won an Oscar. It should be a crime that Goldie Hawn, Cher and Angelina Jolie each have more Oscars on their mantle than Robinson, Stanwyck and MacMurray combined.
Mildred Pierce, Postman and DI were all made during the era of the code but does anyone think they would be improved if made today? The code forced the writers to focus on the heart of the story as opposed to a lot of movies today that only seem an excuse to use the newest CGI techniques with some gratuitous nudity and car crashes mixed in.
Ah, Barbara Stanwyck. Was there ever a more perfect movie star? Girl-next-door pretty, smart and sassy roles, kind to everyone on the set.
And sorry, I already built my time machine, and Miss Satnwyck & I will be away having Christmas in Connecticut.
One of my all-time favorites. “…same ankle bracelet” line blew me away!
Happy to see Double Indemnity as a Pick of the Day.
I agree with the posters above about recommending what may seem to be “obvious” classics. Not everybody knows these movies, and sometimes, it’s entirely appropriate to point out a classic like Double Indemnity.
This is one of the greatest American movies. Ever.
Fred MacMurray is so underrated as an actor – the look on his face when he says “I didn’t get the woman” conveys so many conflicting emotions, it’s amazing he’s never been given the credit he deserves.
DI has hardly any physical contact, and yet I can’t think of another movie where the theme of sexual obsession is conveyed more powerfully. And with subtle humor too – the first meeting between Walter and Phyllis is a perfect example. She’s pacing back and forth, absentmindedly playing with a tube of lipstick, while he sits on the edge of a small sofa crossing and uncrossing his legs.
And then there’s the rest of the cast, the extraordinary photography, the unforgettable music – it’s just a perfect movie from start to finish.
Robert:
The ankle bracelet coming down the stairs was enough for Stanwyck to win the Oscar.
GREAT film!! Definitely in my all time top 20 (if not top 10). I completely agree with MARYMCL that MacMurray was very underrated as an actor and think it is a shame that he’s never been given the credit he deserves. (I loved his films with Carole Lombard).
Stanwyck was perfection, but then again, when ISN’T Stanwyck amazing?
Oh yeah. One of Big Mac’s best. And what can you say about Stanwyck, even in that cheezy blonde wig? One of the best noir films, right up there with “Kiss of Death” and “D.O.A.”
Top 5 in my book, if someone was to ask what “Film Noir” is, just refer them to this movie.
Top 5 movies…1) Sunset Boulevard
2) Double Indemnity
3) Detour
4) Gun Crazy
5) Laura
I saw this movie several years ago and left it wanting more Edward G. Robinson. I immediately searched for any movies that he was in around the same time that DI was made. Before DI, I saw him in Ten Commandments and that was about it. He was a true talent and when compared to the majority of “actors” today, it’s embarrassing.
I’m amazed that no one has credited the director, who I think is one of the 3 greatest of classic Hollywood (John Ford, Howard Hawks) – Billy Wilder. Also a sharp, cynical, cutting scripter of dialog.
And Wilder is also the director of two other movies mentioned above, Sunset Boulevard and Some Like It Hot, as well as absolute classics like The Lost Weekend, The Apartment (also with a great, evil MacMurray), and Ace In the Hole.
“It’s just like the first time I came here, isn’t it? We were talking about automobile insurance, only you were thinking about murder. And I was thinking about that anklet.”
One of my favorite movies of all time. I came for the Chandler dialogue, but stayed for that ankle bracelet.
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