The seductive and deadly femme fatale is a staple of the film noir genre. Her looks, hair, clothing, jewelry air of innocence sexual attraction innuendos protagonists analysis of the meeting the femme fatale embodies the most direct. Double indemnity simply is film noir, which is a genre. Banned in occupied countries during the war, these films became available throughout. Double indemnity symbols, allegory and motifs gradesaver. One of the earliest and most famous is the maltese falcon. The function of chiaroscuro lighting and analepsis in. One of the best examples of a noir film coming from the hardboiled tradition is double indemnity, the script was written by raymond chandler from james m. The film noir is a hard genre to define, but it is commonly said to be a collection of aesthetical principles and a more cynical outlook during and after wwii. Cains 1943 novella of the same name, which originally appeared as an eightpart serial in liberty magazine, beginning in february 1936 the film stars fred macmurray as an insurance salesman. Wilders double indemnity is often held up as a classic example of american film noir, a term invented by french critics meaning black. An indepth look at a film noir classic the artifice 2015. Even if you cant go along with that, there can be no disputing that it is the. The golden age of film noir the cinema of the disenchanted.
Noir films mostly revolve around a central, male antihero theyre hardboiled tough guys with tragic flaws, cynical detectives, aimless grifters, callous gangsters, or like walter neff in double indemnity, victims of circumstance. Double indemnity is the most excellent example of a noir film to date. I was thinking about that dame upstairs, and the way she had looked at me, and i wanted to see her again, close, without that silly staircase between us. Feb 26, 2008 double indemnity simply is film noir, which is a genre. In 1938, walter neff, an experienced salesman of the pacific all risk insurance co. Double indemnity 1944 tough talkers phyllis dietrichson barbara stanwyck and walter neff fred macmurray.
Two of the biggest noir elements in double indemnity are the femme fatale and antihero. Watch walter and phyllis as they get together in a luminous white southern california superstore, sporting dark glasses, not shopping or still watching each other while plotting up plans for a homicide. Laura mulvey molly haskell double indemnity billy wilder film noir psychoanalysis femme fatale freud film studies in her article visual pleasure and the narrative cinema, laura mulvey describes a way of analyzing and understanding cinema from a feminist and psychoanalytic perspective. Double indemnity in the film noir movie 961 words bartleby.
She defied gender conventions of the time, revealing herself to be intelligent, cunning, and almost always duplicitous. Directed by john huston, the 1942 film starred humphrey bogart as sam spade, a private eye who gets dragged into a mystery that revolves around the whereabouts of a. Double indemnity as a film noir classic film studies essay. A 1944 film noir, directed by billy wilder, written by him and raymond chandler, adapted from james m. Its in black and white, it has fast badinage, its very witty, a story from the classic age. The use of dark and light, of shadows, generally defines that type of film, but westerns, comedies, science fiction, etc.
The phrase film noir was first coined in 1946 by a group of french critics to describe. Billy wilders double indemnity was made in 1944 and in the last seventy years it has stood on the pedestal as one of the best examples of what the film noir genre has to offer. The term film noir was coined by french critics for 1940s50s american films that shared a dark sensibility and a dark lighting style, such as double indemnity 1944, out of the past 1947, and the postman always rings twice 1946. Nov 29, 20 cameron crowe called double indemnity flawless film making. Considered by many to be the definitive film noir, and popularizer of many of its tropes walter neff fred macmurray is a successful but bored insurance salesman who encounters phyllis dietrichson barbara stanwyck when he comes to her house to. A clause in an insurance policy that provides for payment of double the face value of the contract in case of accidental death. Double indemnity femme fatale films from literature. Double indemnity is a classic example of the film noir style and also set some standards for movies to come. Billy wilders double indemnity 1944 and the phenomenon of. Film noir is a style of film that utilizes lighting and shadow as its story progresses, often at times showcasing the underbelly of humanity. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the classic period of american film noir. Nov 02, 2008 the movie, double indemnity is considered film noir can anyone tell me what are needed in a movie to make it film noir and some examples from double indemnity that are film noir.
Double indemnity takes advantage of this technique in order to underscore the interlocking themes of deception throughout the film. I think double indemnity is one of the better examples of all of those influences working well together. Film noir literally black film or black cinema was coined by french film critics first by nino frank in 1946 who noticed the trend of how dark, downbeat and black the looks and themes were of many american crime and detective films released in france to theatres during and following world war ii, such as the maltese falcon 1941, murder, my sweet 1944, double indemnity 1944, the. Barbara stanwyck plays phyllis dietrichson in double indemnity her name is no doubt a nod to premier silver screen seductress marlene dietrich. Comparison of noir and neo noir themes in the films double indemnity and chinatown 1117 words 5 pages.
The attempt of this overview is to discuss the similarities, differences and influences of noir film and neo noir film and analyzed how they have evolved taking double indemnity and chinatown and as generic examples. We described a femme fatale as being beautiful, one who leads the main character into danger, and feigns naivete or weakness to hide manipulative goals. Since we talked mostly about femme fatales in class, i focused mainly on the one introduced in last weeks film, double indemnity. Considering the characteristics of film noir, the double indemnity film. Billy wilders double indemnity he cowrote it with raymond chandler is a widely regarded paradigmatic film noir wrought with tropes of the genre. In fact, film noir is a genre within the cinema of disillusionment and the two great keys to understand the importance of this hollywood subgenre are darkness and cynicism.
Double indemnity definition of double indemnity by the. Film noir is not necessarily a type of genre but rather a tone that branched of from the crimegangster sags of the 1930s. Cinema scholars often refer to barbara stanwycks character of phyllis dietrichson in double indemnity 1944 as one of the top examples of the. The movie, double indemnity is considered film noir can anyone tell me what are needed in a movie to make it film noir and some examples from double indemnity that are film noir. The dark and distinctive elements of film noir culture trip. Double indemnity is an important and some say the first example of a genre of films called film noir. Among the most notable examples of classic film noir are double indemnity, laura, vertigo, and this gun for hire. Double indemnity is filled with wonderful examples of this style of. Double indemnity starts with nondiagetic music which installs a sense of urgency and action that. All five films seemed to take place in a world marked by. Oct 09, 2008 not only is double indemnity one of the archetypal films known as film noir but it is regarded by many as the first true film noir. In this classic film noir, insurance salesman walter neff fred macmurray gets roped into a murderous scheme when he falls for the sensual. Oct 14, 20 double indemnity takes advantage of this technique in order to underscore the interlocking themes of deception throughout the film.
Dietrichson, low key lighting is used in order to accentuate opposite sides of walter and phylliss faces, while obscuring most of their surroundings. Some cinematic philosophy the first jism film, released in 2003, was almost entirely a ripoff of billy wilders 1944 cult film, double indemnity. With this statement, we begin to understand one of the reasons why double indemnity is regarded so highly and is considered the subgenres prototype. Cameron crowe called double indemnity flawless filmmaking. Double indemnity essays are academic essays for citation. In double indemnity, and many other film noir, this use of shadows portrays. The film was developed at a time when film noir movies were gaining immense popularity, making it one of the best film noir to date. In double indemnity, there is a femme fatale, a seemingly honest man being dragged into the darkness, lots of tough talk, and violence. Cains double indemnity and the film adaptation by billy wilder and raymond chandler for the may noir book of the month club. Here is a look at the pinnacle of cinema with the 1944.
Billy wilders double indemnity was made in 1944 and in the last seventy years it has stood on the pedestal as one of the best examples of what the film noir. Double indemnity was released september 1944 and it rocked the film world. Film noir of this era is associated with a lowkey, blackandwhite visual style that has roots in german. Considering the characteristics of film noir, the double indemnity film seems to cover almost all of them. To be sure, there are more typical examples of the strengths of the film noir style, and probably films that better encapsulations of the characteristic worldview of noir, but maybe there is none more perfect as a movie. There is also discussion of some other noir films, especially detour and double indemnity. In the car scene after walter and phyllis have killed mr. Film analysis of double indemnity film studies essay. An essential example of langs relentless and unforgiving auteur style. The 1944 film double indemnity is everything that classic film noir could possibly be. An insurance representative lets himself be talked by a seductive housewife into a murderinsurance fraud scheme that arouses the suspicion of an insurance investigator. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of double indemnity by director billy wilder.
Double indemnity legal definition of double indemnity. Shes seductive, manipulative, and morally ambiguous. Double indemnity first meeting between protagonist and femme fatale. The a dark backandwhite tale of lust, greed and murder told from the killers point of view distinctly different when compared other noir born around the same time including the maltese falcon was a box office hit. Cains novel by raymond chandler and directed by billy wilder, double indemnity is a film noir representing one of the highest levels of urban crime dramas. Our next film noir analysis covers another timeless and influential classic that helped define the genre. An indepth look at a film noir classic barbara stanwyck and fred macmurray in double indemnity, billy wilder 1944 it has all the characteristics of the classic forties film as i respond to it. In this lively book, schickel provides an engrossing account of how the movies screenplay was written. Double indemnity 1944 double indemnity is a classic film noir. It has venetian blinds, hats and coats, pouring rain, and, of course, crime. Dec 08, 2017 our next film noir analysis covers another timeless and influential classic that helped define the genre. Jan 17, 2017 in fact, film noir is a genre within the cinema of disillusionment and the two great keys to understand the importance of this hollywood subgenre are darkness and cynicism. Why is phyllis in double indemnity hailed as one of. Woody allen declared it the greatest movie ever made.
Cains 1943 novella of the same name as the foundation of their story, wilder and extraordinary novelistturnedscreenwriter raymond chandler wrote a mesmerizing script that introduced one of the. Sep 17, 20 since we talked mostly about femme fatales in class, i focused mainly on the one introduced in last weeks film, double indemnity. Double indemnity filmcinema studies bibliographies. Richard schickel is a great lover of billy wilders double indemnity, one of the earliest and best examples of film noir. What are some examples of film noir in the movie double. The characters, scenario and stylistic elements of double indemnity all perfectly represent this group of hollywood films from the early 1940s to the late 1950s.
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