Double Indemnity (1944) – My Three Crimes (Adultery, Insurance Fraud and Murder)

I watched this great film noir this morning, starring Fred MacMurray (best known to many as the Dad from My Three Sons) as Walter Neff, an insurance salesman that falls for Phyllis Dietrichson (played by Barbara Stanwyck), the wife of an uncaring, unfeeling Oilman, known only to the audience as as Mr. Dietrichson.

Neff meets Phyllis when he stops by the house to sell insurance. Immediately smitten, with Phyllis apparently sharing similar feelings for Neff, Neff is soon embroiled in a plot to Kill Mr. Dietrichson and collect the policy – a policy that pays out double (hence the movie’s title, Double Indemnity) in the case the policy holder dies in an accident. 

Planning an murder that looks like an accident, and pulling it off looked like it went well. The only issue is that Porter Hall (played by Edward G. Robinson), a fellow insurance salesman gets suspicious and starts digging deeper into the circumstances around the death and turning up discrepancies. Fred spends the rest of the film trying to keep from getting caught and finding out that he just might be being played himself.

This is a tale of deceit, murder, adultery and awesomeness. The film is a great example of the Film Noir genre, and the actors are all top notch. A Dark tale (like all film noir), I highly recommend this film if you have an open mind enough to enjoy a dark tale that doesn’t show blood, gore or Zombies. If you get a chance to see this film, please do.

Check out the trailer here: