The  second black and white film in my repertoire is  “Double Indemnity”, another of the film noir genre. In this one, however, the role of the protagonist was extremely amoral, to the point of murder. Walter Neff, an insurance salesman started out by completely disregarding the sanctity of the femme fatales marriage. As suspicious as he was of her intentions when they first met, he allowed himself to be drawn in by Mrs. Dietrechson. The femme fatale played two different roles, one of a naïve, helpless woman who only did her wifely duties, while her husband earned and treated her like a second class citizen.  The second role was that of a calculating, conniving and heartless individual who would do whatever it took to get what she wanted. Her coldness became evident in the movie when we saw that Walter was a nervous wreck after the murder, but she was calm and collected, doing exactly what was planned. She even started to make a contingency plan in case Walter didn’t follow through.

Many of the conventions of film noir were present, the use of light and shadows conveyed the mood, the music which was only present and became louder and at a higher tempo whenever there was going to be action. The setting, for example the use of rain in the scene after turning down Phyllis conveyed the gloom that fell over Walter. The camera angles of Walter were mostly from the bottom up to portray the fact that for the most of the film he had the upper hand. While seated in Keyes office, giving his confession he was slumped in a chair with the camera pointed down at him in judgment.

Before the movie began there was a small introduction in which it was explained that the adaptation of the movie was a long laborious task. This was because it was not only hard to get some of the contents of the book past censorship but also, any actor worth their salt was afraid to touch the controversial roles that the film had. The political context of the film is shown where the envelope was being pushed, by portraying a woman that was capable of murder and blatantly being unfaithful to her husband. Keyes also made it a point to mention that a lady that Walter might be interested would probably drink straight from a bottle with disgust; a trait that only a certain type of woman would do back in those days, I’m sure. There was also Walter’s surprised look when Phyllis accepted bourbon when he said he was out of champagne. This showed how women were expected to be in that time and how they were thought of if they fell outside of those conventions. There was also the specific mention of the colored woman who cleaned Walter’s house a nod to the segregation and racism that was rampant back then, she didn’t have a name just colored woman, similarly in the book the houseman was referred to as the Filipino. 

There were many similarities and also differences between “The Maltese Falcon” and “Double Indemnity”. One major similarity was the role of the femme fatale, who was instrumental in leading the protagonist down a dark path. There was also the protagonists’ decision at the end to bring her to justice, albeit two totally different methods. The two most notable differences for me were that the detective angle was not as pronounced in “Double Indemnity”. We were also allowed a peek into the protagonists’ thoughts as he narrated the film through his confession.

In class we describe a femme fatale more or less as a beautiful character who leads the protagonist to danger and can end up also betraying the protagonist. In “Double Indemnity” Phyllis definitely fits the role of the femme fatale. She builds up Walter by showing feelings for him and using her beauty and sex appeal to her advantage. Phyllis and Walter go through with the scheme to collect life insurance from the death of her husband and at the end she is ultimately plotting a larger scheme where she would keep all the money for herself. Walter ends up realizing this and confronts her about it. She then ends up shooting Walter in the back. When she realizes she missed she couldn’t shoot again and Walter kills Phyllis. Phyllis fits the femme fatale based on our class definitions because she uses her beauty to lead Walter into the danger of being arrested and at the end betrays him by trying to KILL HIM!!

In the noir film, “Double Indemnity,” Walter Neff is a smart, hard working sales man. Until, he visits his client, Mr. Dietrichson, to remind him that his automobile insurance have to be renew. Instead of Mr. Dietrichson, he meet Phyllis. She is a femme fatale in the film, which is defined as totally attractive and leads the protagonist into danger for what she wants. Phyllis wants Neff to kill her husband so she can get the insurance money. Neff refuses but because his lust for her he agrees to.

In contrast to the “Maltose Falcon,” “Double Indemnity” is more interesting because the film starts with Neff is wounded and he confess in his office. The flashback style of the film give the audiences at glimpse of what happened. It made the audiences want to know what is the story behind it. However, I like Spade better than Neff because lust doesn’t fool Spade and he is slick. He fools his enemies back.

Write a blog post on Double Indemnity(film), discussing it in light of our class discussions. You can also compare it toThe Maltese Falcon

Double Indemnity, a story about love, betrayal, and a scheme that the main characters could not get away with. This film was way better than the Maltese Falcon in my personal opinion it gave us more twists and turns as well as a hope, that maybe, just maybe the protagonist could have lived happily ever after with the femme fatale up until the point that she shot him that is.

Break Down of characters;

Protagonist: An insurance salesman, tired of his job, always wanting more. He was very charming, and went after what he wanted, very smart from the first meeting knew what the femme fatale was after and his moral code allowed him to turn it down, at least until she successfully seduced him, and made him believe he was killing for love. His mind does not work well around beautiful woman, although he was a killer he had a conscious as he did not want anything to happen to the daughter of the man he killed.

Femme Fatale: A very sneaky woman, her intentions are very clear from the start although she did try to deviate from the main point. She seduces the protagonist, has a plan all set up to see him privately, changing the date of the meeting to a day where they would be on their own yet acts as if the maid is still around. Once the protagonist is hooked she said “i loathe going back to him” solidifying his commitment.

Barton Keys (supporting) This man was a my favorite character, he never took crap from any of his clients, was able to spot a liar a mile away, a no nonsense type of person, well educated and both strong and strict yet as stated in the movie had “a heart as big as a house”

The combination of these three characters made a great movie and i was glad to have the chance to see it. Its amazing how these old movies are better than the majority of movies that are out right now, im not sure about everyone else but i feel as if there should be a resurgence of the Noir film genre.

In the Noir film Double Indemnity we are presented with the themes of greed and lust which later leads to adultery and murder. The film begins with Walter Neff who is a door-to-door sales man. Upon visiting one of his former clients, he ends up meeting his wife Phyllis Dietrichson instead.
Upon their first meeting we get the feeling that Phyllis is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms instantly captivate Walter Neff. This makes her a femme fatale; as we know a femme fatale often leads a male character into compromising dangerous situations by using their seductive charm against them, which is exactly what Phyllis does with Walter.
Often in movies even today powerful characters are shown by showing a camera angle, which goes from the bottom up, which is exactly how we meet Phyllis (up the stairs) signifying that she’s the one in power. Later in the movie we can clearly see that Walter is aware of Phyllis intentions, and his lust for her is so powerful that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to be with her. Even if that whatever means murdering her husband. Walter leaves his hat behind after meeting Phyllis for the second time, giving a reason for her to go visit him.
This film presents us with many hits that lead us to know what’s going on and what is to be expected. I believe the main theme of this movie is that of the femme fatale; Phyllis leads Walter who was a honest man earning a living as a sales man to turn his life around for the worst and become a murderer just like her.

I find the main character in “Double Indemnity” was a bit to much full of himself. His passion for the femme fatales over power him to make the right decisions. Clearly he was over taken by the beauty of the female, but he went to far when he agreed to help her kill her husband. I had a feeling that the salesmen knew what the women was planning all along the moment he open his mouth about “accident insurance”. Just like all men who are fallen into their lust for a women, they are always blinded by whats right, and clearly follow what they think is best for themselves.

This topic on femme fatales could fall under historical context, because like all man in the past, present, and future. They are all bound to the fact that they want a beautiful women in their life, and will stop at nothing to get one. There were a lot of moments in the movie that the audience could figure out what was about to happen. Like for example when the salesmen told the women about the insurance you could get when someone close to you die: foreshadow the women plan in getting money quick, and being able to escape her boring life.

In my option the movie was an OK watch for me. Compare to the “Maltese Falcon”, they both share a similarity of persuasion: a women who convince a guy to help murder her husband for money and freedom – a detective who try to finds the truth about the murder of his partner, befriend his enemy. I find them both amazing, because of how the actors play their characters to portray their rolls in the story.

Double Indemnity is a hard movie to watch. It was the first time I have seen it, but I have seen the same setup before in another film called Fatal Instinct; a parody of noire films and erotic thrillers. The film Double Indemnity is about a seemingly normal (but not nice) guy, and a homicidal woman setting up a murder plot where the women’s husband is the latest victim. Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) a door-to-door insurance salesman meets the very attractive Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), and falls madly in lust with her. She suggests buying a life insurance policy on her husband (Tom Powers) without his knowledge.  Neff knows what she is planning; and not only helps but plans the murder himself.

The movie is heavily noire influenced; as seen in the introduction. The main character tells the story of what has happened to his coworker and friend Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson). Neff has a gunshot wound in his arm; setting up to introduce the story. You learn that Neff is a normal guy but you see where he went wrong in his choices. However, there is a moment in the film when Neff comes to terms with what he’s done; and the viewer can see a sliver of hope for Neff. It’s a dark movie that holds no punches in showing how evil people are and how manipulative people can be. Phyllis Dietrichson may appear a meek, bored housewife, but she is a cold blooded killer. Playing with the stereotypes of the time, a woman could be a murderer but would still show her softness to lure the viewer’s sympathy; but not Phyllis Dietrichson. She was cold, methodical, and knew what strings to pull to get what she wanted. She played the role of a woman in need of a big “manly-man” to help her; and Neff was the one. Too smart for his own good and the libido to match his ego; He sees Dietrichson’s agenda and calls her out on it. Sadly he cannot resist her beauty and lust trumps everything.  Taking the life of her husband is almost justified because he was verbally abusive and controlling. Divorce was not as common as it is today and the courts would not have given her what was hers; she would be out on the street. So murder for her is the only way she can get what she is owed.

I find many similarities in the film Detour which came out one year after Double Indemnity. The one difference that stands out to me is that the main character is a true good guy; hitch-hiking from New York to Los Angeles and to be with the one he loves.  Like Neff he made a bad choice that got him in to more trouble; and it is told through narration of the main character.  Being a broken shell of what he ones was, after making a bad choice. The choice Al made was one of desperation that got worse and worse over time; in contrast Neff did it out of selfishness and greed. The lighting effects and camera angles show how dark the world can really be and the touch of the narrator telling the audience how he felt at the time really helps sell this dark thriller.

This movie would stand as a perfect example to what we spoke about in regards to femme fatales. The femme fatale of this movie is Phyllis a lady who leads the main character into danger by basically seducing him and making him want to live his life with her. She feigns naivete by allowing him to take the blame when they spoke about the murder of her husband even though she has killed before as described by her daughter.

In comparison to the Maltese Falcon I would have to say this movie developed the characters to a more realistic perspective. Each character had their own emotions and showed them accordingly. You could see the feelings of regret on the main protagonist when his partner starts questioning the death of the man. You could also see his fear when the femme fatales daughter tells him the story about her real mother and how her step-mother was there when she died.

The protagonist is constructed in a non-traditional manner. We see the conclusion of the movie unfolding in the beginning and he tells the story as a confession to his boss.  So as he tells his story he develops himself which I do not seen done regularly. He comes off as a macho health insurance sells man. He does not take no for an answer and he keeps it smooth for the ladies. He also knows how to tip-toe his way around fraud apparently. He also appears to be a romantic because of the way he approached a married woman as if he stood a chance and admits to falling for regardless of the circumstances.  Neff fits the bill of being determined which can be assumed to be obtained through his line of work as a sales man but also is obvious when we see he would do anything for a chance with Phyllis which is pretty much how he lands himself in all this trouble. Planning murder after a little tease.

The femme fatale in this movie is Phyllis. Towards the beginning of class we began to describe a femme fatale using everything we knew about a femme fatale from everything we have seen whether it was a film or a television show. Phyllis fit the bill like a glove. It was like she read a copy of the list the class constructed and went out and played her part. She was devious, had a thing for the main character, she leads him into the pits of danger with her beauty and she is dangerous to boot. The reason why she is dangerous is because we learn that she has something to do with the first wife’s death. Most of the film is centered around her getting what she wants and her willingness to do as she pleases. She, as the femme fatale would, also leads our protagonist Neff to his doom. I believe Phyllis is the model for a femme fatale without a doubt.

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.