‘Double Indemnity’ 80th anniversary: Billy Wilder’s crime thriller still plays well to this day

Manipulation. Adultery. Murder. Commonly used themes in modern day films were much trickier plot devices in the 1940s, with the Production Code in full enforcement. During this time, hardboiled detective novels had become popular, and studios clamored to turn them into moneymaking films. The film noir genre allowed a delicate balance between what was acceptable to Hollywood censors and the “steamy” tales in which audiences enjoyed indulging. One of the best noirs ever made, “Double Indemnity,” helped to set the standards for that genre, with director and co-writer Billy Wilder working around the Production Code to create one of the most cold-hearted on-screen crime films — and definitive femme fatales — of the era. It’s been eight decades since the release of this thriller, and it plays well to this day. Read on for more about the “Double Indemnity” 80th anniversary.

Two of the biggest names in hardboiled detective novels were involved in bringing “Double Indemnity” to the big screen. James M. Cain had been intrigued by the story of Ruth Snyder, who in 1927 had manipulated her lover into helping her kill her husband to obtain an insurance payout from a forged policy. Cain wrote “Double Indemnity” as a 1936 magazine serial with a similar storyline, and Hollywood studios were interested in adapting it to the big screen, but the Hays Office warned that it would likely not make it past the censors.

A few years later, Paramount secured the screen rights, but the Hays Office was no more in favor of the “sordid” tale reaching “innocent” audiences. However, Wilder enlisted the aid of another renowned writer of the hardboiled genre, Raymond Chandler, to collaborate on the screenplay. In addition to the challenges posed by the Hays Code restrictions, Wilder and Chandler butted heads, to the point that Chandler submitted a list of complaints about Wilder to the studio. One particular disagreement was over the dialogue, with Wilder convinced that Cain’s would play well onscreen, while Chandler felt changes were needed. In the end, it was largely Chandler’s dialogue that made it one of the most-well written and memorable of its time – and even got a pass from the censors after a couple of tweaks.

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The seedy tale begins when insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) makes an innocent house call to update Mr Dietrichson’s (Tom Powers) policy, and is gradually lured into a murder plot by his client’s wife, the conniving Phyllis (Barbara Stanwyck). The seductive blonde only has to flash her ankle bracelet to turn Neff from decent guy into cold-blooded killer focused on the payout of the double indemnity clause on Dietrich’s accident policy. However, Neff’s mentor Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) catches on, and the duped Neff too late realizes that “I killed him for money — and a woman — and I didn’t get the money and I didn’t get the woman.” The dialogue, laced with innuendo and double entendres, is some of the best ever written for cinema, while Stanwyck’s blonde wig is perhaps one of the worst ever in cinema. But Wilder wanted Phyllis to look cheap and tawdry, and he definitely succeeded.

The filmmaker had to convince both Stanwyck and MacMurray to take on the the lead roles. Both were among the highest-paid actors of their time, and had risen to the top of their fields by playing likable characters. Stanwyck was known for romantic leads and strong-willed heroines, and MacMurray had become famous as the lead in lighthearted comedies and musicals. Stanwyck was Wilder’s first choice for Phyllis, but she hesitated to play such a coldhearted killer … until Wilder asked her if she was “a mouse or an actress?” Several leading men had turned down the role of Neff, as he is portrayed as a gullible stooge, and MacMurray worried the serious role required “real acting.” Thankfully, Wilder wore them both down, making this the second of four pairings for the two actors.

Although the content at the time remained unfavorable with some critics, “Double Indemnity” opened nationwide on July 3, 1944, and was a box office hit. It received seven Academy Award nominations, but lost them all — including three (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing) to the more wholesome “Going My Way.” Stanwyck lost her Best Actress bid to Ingrid Bergman for her role in the thriller “Gaslight.” In one of the Academy’s biggest oversights, MacMurray failed to garner a nomination. But they all won a place in film history.

Despite their concerns over their images being tarnished, the careers of Stanwyck and MacMurray continued to flourish. MacMurray is largely remembered for his easy-going characters, and eventually would become known as the affable dad on the sitcom “My Three Sons” (1960-1972) and in Disney movies like “The Shaggy Dog” (1959). However, he also gained further cinema immortality as a cad in another Wilder classic, “The Apartment” (1960). Although Stanwyck failed to win any of her four competitive Oscar nominations, she received an honorary in 1982, and won three Emmys for her work on television.

Even though Wilder and Chandler infamously did not mesh, the writer makes a brief cameo about 16 minutes into the film, as the man reading a magazine outside Keyes’s office when Neff walks out. Chandler’s rare film appearance was unrecorded and went unnoticed for more than five decades, until a couple of eagle-eyed viewers spotted him.

Regardless of any difficulties between Wilder and Chandler, in 2006, their screenplay was ranked by the Writers Guild of America as the 26th best ever written. It has become one of the most lauded films in cinematic history, ranking high on most critics’ “must see” lists, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1992. It ranked on several American Film Institute’s lists, including both editions of 100 Years … 100 Movies, 100 Years … 100 Thrills and 100 years … 100 Passions, while Stanwyck’s calculating Phyllis ranked #8 on their list of greatest villains. So, baby, in the end, the film bad guys had spectacular downfalls, and the filmmaker triumphed over censors and critics.

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