History Film / DoubleIndemnity

* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: During a dramatic scene, equally dramatic music is played. It is assumed that this is not diegetic, until Neff closes a window and the music cuts off.

-->'''Phyllis:''' Because you don't want the money anymore even though you could have it because she's made you feel like a heel all of a sudden?

---> "Walter, you're all washed up."

* AdaptationDistillation: Mildly. The film hews very close to the book for the most part, but the ending (though it eliminates some revelations about Phyllis) is both spatially and temporally more compact. Its main differences are in the dialogue (Chandler believed Cain's dialogue [[PragmaticAdaptation wouldn't translate well]] to the screen) and the use of the FramingDevice of Neff recounting the story into the dictaphone.

A 1944 FilmNoir, directed by Creator/BillyWilder, written by him and Creator/RaymondChandler, adapted from Creator/JamesMCain's earlier novel of the same title. Considered by many to be ''the'' definitive FilmNoir, and popularizer of many of its tropes.

->''"I killed him for money, and for a woman. I didn't get the money, and I didn't get the woman. Pretty, isn't it?"''

A 1944 FilmNoir, directed by Creator/BillyWilder, written by him and Creator/RaymondChandler, adapted from JamesMCain's earlier novel of the same title. Considered by many to be ''the'' definitive FilmNoir, and popularizer of many of its tropes.

Walter Neff (Fred [=MacMurray=]) is a successful but bored insurance salesman who encounters Phyllis Dietrichson (BarbaraStanwyck) when he comes to her house to discuss automobile insurance. After the two have traded some innuendo-laden banter, Phyllis reveals that her marriage is not a particularly happy one and the pair end up conspiring to trick her husband into taking out an accident insurance policy -- and ensure that he then meets a tragic "accidental" end.

->''"I killed him for money, and for a woman. I didn't get the money, and [[DidNotGetTheGirl I didn't get the woman]]. Pretty, isn't it?"''

* {{Cameo}}: The film's co-screenwriter, Creator/RaymondChandler, appears briefly in one scene.

* PlayingAgainstType: Fred [=MacMurray=] and Barbara Stanwyck were both reluctant to accept the roles of Neff and Phyllis respectively: [=MacMurray=] was principally a comedic actor, while Stanwyck was worried about what playing such a singularly nasty character would do to her career. Edward G. Robinson was also reluctant to accept a supporting role, [[MoneyDearBoy until he saw the paycheck.]]

* ThrowItIn: The incredibly suspenseful scene in which Phyllis can't get her car to start after dumping Dietrichson's body was a happy accident.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The original script had two possible endings -- the one that ended up in the film, and an alternate ending which continued after that scene to show Neff's execution in the gas chamber. This gas chamber scene was actually filmed, but Wilder ultimately decided not to use it. The {{Media Watchdog}}s had objected to the scene as "unduly gruesome"; however, Wilder claimed that his reasons for cutting it were entirely artistic: it was already clear from the preceding scene that Neff was doomed, and actually seeing him die didn't tell the audience anything they didn't already know. The footage of this scene has unfortunately been lost, but some production stills remain.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Keyes' introductory scene.

Neff, who has eleven years' experience in the insurance business, believes that he has the brains to pull off ThePerfectCrime. The only obstacle is his colleague and friend Barton Keyes ([[EdwardGRobinson Edward G. Robinson]]), the brilliant claims manager who can spot a phony insurance claim a mile away.

** Also [[spoiler: Phyllis herself]].

* ContrivedCoincidence: Dietrichson just so happening to injure his leg (and subsequently failing to file a claim under the insurance policy he didn't know he had) is what leads to [[spoiler: Keyes SpottingTheThread]].

* DeadlyHug: How [[spoiler: Phyllis meets her end.]]

* FemmeFatale: Literally; [[spoiler:Phyllis not only kills her husband and his first wife, but shoots Walter.]]

* GoryDiscretionShot: When [[spoiler:Walter kills Phyllis]], he does so in a way that avoids showing any blood (with his back to the camera).

* HowMuchDidYouHear: Neff to Keyes when the latter [[spoiler:walks in on his confession at the end]].
* HowWeGotHere:[[spoiler:The narrator gets shot prior to the movie's start, and retells everything before dying. In other words, he slowly bleeds to death for ''the whole movie'', not kicking it until the end.]] The book begins with him on a ship, also suffering from a gunshot wound, shortly before his SuicidePact with Phyllis.

* PlayingAgainstType: Fred [=MacMurray=] and Barbara Stanwyck were both reluctant to accept the roles of Neff and Phyllis respectively: [=MacMurray=] was principally a comedic actor, while Stanwyck was worried about what playing such a singularly nasty character would do to her career. Edward G. Robinson was also reluctant to accept a supporting role, [[MoneyDearBoy until he saw the paycheck.]][[note]]Reports have also said that Robinson was fond of the script, and decided to step down from starring roles in mediocre films in favor of supporting roles in good films.[[/note]]

* RunningGag: Keyes ends all his conversations by pulling out a cigar and patting all his pockets for a light. He never has one at hand, so Neff has to come to his rescue with a quickly-lit match. In the last scene, their roles are reversed: [[spoiler: Neff, dying from his bullet wound, is too weak to light a match for his own cigarette; Keyes has to light it for him]].

* HowWeGotHere:[[spoiler:The narrator gets shot prior to the movie's start, and retells everything before dying. In other words, he slowly bleeds to death for ''the whole movie'', not kicking it until the end.]]

* PlayingAgainstType: Fred [=MacMurray=] and Barbara Stanwyck were both reluctant to accept the roles of Neff and Phyllis respectively: [=MacMurray=] was principally a comedic actor, while Stanwyck was worried about what playing such a singularly nasty character would do to her career. Edward G. Robinson was also reluctant to accept a supporting role, [[MoneyDearBoy until he saw the paycheck]][[hottip:*:Reports have also said that Robinson was fond of the script, and decided to step down from starring roles in mediocre films in favor of supporting roles in good films]].

* HowWeGotHere

* RunningGag: Keyes ends all his conversations by pulling out a cigar and patting all his pockets for a light. He never has one at hand, so Neff has to come to his rescue with a quick match. In the last scene, their roles are reversed: [[spoiler: Neff, dying from his bullet wound, is too weak to light a match for his own cigarette; Keyes has to light it for him]].

* VitriolicBestBuds: Keyes and Neff have shades of this... and sometimes a bit ''more'' than this.

* TitleDrop

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Based on the 1927 Snyder-Gray murder, which also inspired ''BodyHeat'' and ''ThePostmanAlwaysRingsTwice''

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Walter and Phyllis commit suicide at the end of the book, rather than face prison and execution for their crime.

->''"I killed him for money, and for a woman. I didn't get the money, and I didn't get the woman. Pretty, isn't it?"''

* AdaptationDistillation: Arguably. The film hews very close to the book for the most part, but the ending (though it eliminates some revelations about Phyllis) is both spatially and temporally more compact. Its main differences are in the dialogue (Chandler believed Cain's dialogue wouldn't translate well to the screen) and the use of the FramingDevice of Neff recounting the story into the dictaphone.

* AssholeVictim: Mr. Dietrichson.
** While certainly loudmouthed and obnoxious, it's hinted that a great deal of what Phyllis tells Neff about him is exaggerated or made up in order to get him to go along with her plan.

Walter Neff (Fred [=MacMurray=]) is a successful but bored insurance salesman who encounters Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) when he comes to her house to discuss automobile insurance. After the two have traded some innuendo-laden banter, Phyllis reveals that her marriage is not a particularly happy one and the pair end up conspiring to trick her husband into taking out an accident insurance policy -- and ensure that he then meets a tragic "accidental" end.

Neff, who has eleven years' experience in the insurance business, believes that he has the brains to pull off ThePerfectCrime. The only obstacle is his colleague and friend Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), the brilliant claims manager who can spot a phony insurance claim a mile away.