1944. dir. Billy Wilder, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson.
Seen it before? No.
See, the thing is, Fred MacMurray was in the Apartment and I think one of his trade marks in his movies is saying "Baby" to women in a tone that sounds so incredibly condescending...I digress...
Walter Neff is an insurance salesman who falls in lust with the wife of one of his company's clients. They plot the man's murder in order to get double what she would if he were killed any other way. They carry out their plan almost perfectly but Neff's supervisor has a keen sense for things that are not on the up and up and he figures out something is wrong with the death. Chaos ensues.
I'll be honest, I stayed up for 95% of the movie...it was late into the night and I just could do it. I can't stand Fred MacMurray using the word "baby." It is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Come to think of it I couldn't stand Barbara Stanwyck either. Her character was weak and mean spirited and whiny. Lovely way to portray women...really. The daughter/step-daughter was cute but she was weak too. Being treated badly is not a good thing ladies...it isn't now and it wasn't back then.
So, see this movie again? probably just the last five or ten minutes to see what happened...
but in reality I saw enough!
Showing posts with label Double Indemnity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Double Indemnity. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
#92 Double Indemnity: Ten times twice as dangerous
1944. dir. Billy Wilder, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson.
Seen it before? No.
You know, it's amazing how many of these movies have been parodied or referenced somehow on The Simpsons. This blog could be 95% Simpsons references if I didn't restrain myself. Stealing, stealing, stealing a car for Moe...
Mild-mannered insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) goes out to visit his client Mr. Dietrichson to renew some car insurance policies. He's not home, but his wife (Barbara Stanwyck, with a terrible blonde wig) is; he gets infatuated with her. Actually this part of the movie is pretty funny. If you were an insurance salesman back in the 40's, would you really go around drinking on the job and openly propositioning your clients? Sounds like fun. I think it's hilarious that the part of her that he's the most attracted to is her ankle. I guess that's the Hays code for you.
Anyway and the two of them hatch a plan to take out an insurance policy on Mr. Dietrichson and then murder him. The plan they come up with is actually pretty good, and it does fool the police. Unfortunately for them, Neff's coworker at the insurance company is Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), who is a total genius and has a knack for sniffing out suspicious claims. I wish he could have been in the movie more, because I love it when movies show intelligent characters.
So it's your basic Hitchcock-esque suspense movie, kind of like Dial M For Murder. Highly recommended if you like film noir.
Position on the list: 57
And here's a weird coincidence: Miklos Rosza did the score for this and the previous movie, Ben Hur. That score was epic... this one was OK I guess.
Seen it before? No.
You know, it's amazing how many of these movies have been parodied or referenced somehow on The Simpsons. This blog could be 95% Simpsons references if I didn't restrain myself. Stealing, stealing, stealing a car for Moe...
Mild-mannered insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) goes out to visit his client Mr. Dietrichson to renew some car insurance policies. He's not home, but his wife (Barbara Stanwyck, with a terrible blonde wig) is; he gets infatuated with her. Actually this part of the movie is pretty funny. If you were an insurance salesman back in the 40's, would you really go around drinking on the job and openly propositioning your clients? Sounds like fun. I think it's hilarious that the part of her that he's the most attracted to is her ankle. I guess that's the Hays code for you.
Anyway and the two of them hatch a plan to take out an insurance policy on Mr. Dietrichson and then murder him. The plan they come up with is actually pretty good, and it does fool the police. Unfortunately for them, Neff's coworker at the insurance company is Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), who is a total genius and has a knack for sniffing out suspicious claims. I wish he could have been in the movie more, because I love it when movies show intelligent characters.
So it's your basic Hitchcock-esque suspense movie, kind of like Dial M For Murder. Highly recommended if you like film noir.
Position on the list: 57
And here's a weird coincidence: Miklos Rosza did the score for this and the previous movie, Ben Hur. That score was epic... this one was OK I guess.
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