Double Indemnity (1944)
Double Indemnity is one of the most famous film noir classics of all time, but I absolutely hate the beginning! Fred MacMurray, bleeding and panting, stumbles into his office and turns on a recorder. He starts his confession, and then the film goes back in time to relive his story as he tells it. I’ve never liked movies that go back in time because I’ve never been able to forget the beginning that has pretty much ruined the ending. It was in the back of my mind that Fred MacMurray will do something terrible and get very badly wounded—so the suspense of the flashback was killed for me. Also, this noir follows the classic pattern of having too much narration. I call it the “It was a hot day in June, and I stepped on a piece of gum” syndrome, partially because this movie’s narration starts with discussing the month and the street names.
While there’s nothing wrong with Fred MacMurray’s or Edward G. Robinson’s performances, Barbara Stanwyck was terribly miscast. I think she’s a fantastic actress in many different roles, but an irresistible femme fatale is not one of them. Lana Turner, yes, or Linda Darnell, but Barbara Stanwyck just doesn’t pull off sexy in this movie as she did in other films like Clash by Night. Plus, her haircut in this film is bad enough to turn any man away, not attract them! I don’t know why those ridiculous bangs were ever popular. Although, her anklet is a great accessory; I’ve since added a whole collection to my jewelry box.
However, if you’ve never seen this classic and you like femme fatales, corny voice-over narration, and stupid men who are easily swayed to the dark side by a pair of legs, you should probably watch Double Indemnity. It does have some snappy dialogue:
“Suppose I bust out crying and put my head on your shoulder?”
“Try putting it on my husband’s shoulder.”
“That tears it.”
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Barbara Stanwyck movies here!
More Edward G. Robinson movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of James M. Cain's original novel here!
While there’s nothing wrong with Fred MacMurray’s or Edward G. Robinson’s performances, Barbara Stanwyck was terribly miscast. I think she’s a fantastic actress in many different roles, but an irresistible femme fatale is not one of them. Lana Turner, yes, or Linda Darnell, but Barbara Stanwyck just doesn’t pull off sexy in this movie as she did in other films like Clash by Night. Plus, her haircut in this film is bad enough to turn any man away, not attract them! I don’t know why those ridiculous bangs were ever popular. Although, her anklet is a great accessory; I’ve since added a whole collection to my jewelry box.
However, if you’ve never seen this classic and you like femme fatales, corny voice-over narration, and stupid men who are easily swayed to the dark side by a pair of legs, you should probably watch Double Indemnity. It does have some snappy dialogue:
“Suppose I bust out crying and put my head on your shoulder?”
“Try putting it on my husband’s shoulder.”
“That tears it.”
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Barbara Stanwyck movies here!
More Edward G. Robinson movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of James M. Cain's original novel here!