YMMV / Double Indemnity

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Mr. Dietrichson. Was he actually a terrible abuser and poor husband? Or did Phyllis tell lies about him to convince Walter Neff?
  • On top of that - when Walter and Phyllis start falling out after the murder, is it because Walter's having a crisis of conscience? Or is it because (as Phyllis suggests) he's gotten bored with her and is getting more interested in Lola? Or is he simply unwilling to admit that their Perfect Crime's coming unglued chiefly because of a screw-up on his end (i.e., getting spotted on the train by Jackson)?
  • Keyes is arguably a Hero Antagonist, depending on whether you see him as more of a force for Lawful Good or Lawful Neutral.
• Award Snub: Understandable given the context of the times and the nation's mood, but the film lost out the Academy Award for Best Picture to the much lighter Going My Way, while neither Fred MacMurray nor Edward G. Robinson were even nominated in the Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor categories. Overall, it was up for ten awards and went home empty-handed.
• Evil Is Cool: Phyllis Dietrichson is easily the most iconic character from the film due to being a mysterious but beautiful master planner and a go-to Femme Fatale.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: The first name of Walter and Keyes' boss, according to his door, is "Edward."
  • Also, Richard Crenna played Walter Neff in a 1973 television remake of this film. He later went on to appear in Body Heat, which is a take off of this film, appearing as the character of the wife's husband. This means he played the killer in one film, then the victim in the later film.
• Ho Yay: That last scene really says it all:
  Neff: Know why you couldn't figure this one, Keyes? I'll tell ya. 'Cause the guy you were looking for was too close. Right across the desk from ya.
  Keyes: Closer than that, Walter.
  Neff: I love you, too.
  • Granted, that last line was meant more as sarcasm (and the conclusion of a Running Gag), but even so (especially given that both men are bachelors)...
• Values Dissonance:
  • After the first mention of killing Phyllis' husband, Walter is keyed up so he goes to a drive-up restaurant and has a beer.
  • Walter tells Phyllis that a "colored woman" cleans up his apartment while he's away.

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