After watching Double Indemnity, which happened to be the second film noir I have seen first being The Maltese Falcon. To me it showed us how the genre itself has evolved into what it is today. They both display many similarities along with many differences. First let me start with the femme fatale they both have women who are both devious and have their own agenda. One of the differences to me is how they are brought into the movie, in Maltese Falcon she comes on scene begging for help in tears along with being very clueless and desperate. In Double Indemnity Phyllis is not the one begging for help but runs into the protagonist, once seeing him she seductively walks down to welcome him and asks several questions as if she is clueless as well. Finally they both try to get something from the main character, a precious statue or the death of her husband they always want something that has high value.

Both main characters are very witty, aggressive and have good jobs. But the difference to me is how both these movies ended, in Double Indemnity he ends up dead after admitting to the  crimes. Although in Maltese Falcon, he turns in all the bad guys and pretty much lives. These movies used great angles to portray the characters, very sharp sudden turns and dramatic points. Dialogue in both movies is very fast paced as the story unfolds. I personally enjoyed both of these films and slowly they are showing me how the basic film noir is expressed.