It’s 1944. The Second World War is still raging, and the two top grossing films are musicals. However, Double Indemnity, directed by Billy Wilder, is a different sort of film, a seminal example of film noir. It begins with insurance salesman Henry Neff confessing to a murder, and it follows his involvement with unhappy wife Phyllis Dietrichson and their plan to kill her husband and collect the insurance money without being caught…if they can.
What Double Indemnity offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: an outstanding example of film noir, a fascinating framing device, a quintenssential femme fatale, and an examination of temptation, guilt, and the consequences of what follows.