Double Indemnity [Blu-ray] [Criterion Collection]

Criterion Collection (2Pc) / (2Pk)

Overview

While on a routine business call, an insurance salesman falls for an unhappily married femme fatale. He soon becomes enmeshed in a scam involving murder and an insurance policy paying double for accidental death. Billy Wilder's stylish direction, an excellent script, and memorable performances make for a film noir masterpiece.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/31/2022
UPC:	0715515272117
Original Release:	1944
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:48:00
Sales rank:	8,304

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Barbara Stanwyck	Phyllis Dietrichson
Fred MacMurray	Walter
Edward G. Robinson	Barton
Porter Hall	Mr. Jackson
Jean Heather	Lola
Tom Powers	Mr. Dietrichson
Richard Gaines	Mr. Norton
Fortunio Bonanova	Sam
John Philliber	Joe
Byron Barr	Nino Zachette
Bess Flowers	Norton's Secretary
Kernan Cripps	Redcap
Oscar Smith	Pullman Porter
Betty Farrington	Nettie, the Maid
Edmund Cobb	Train Conductor
Floyd Schackleford	Pullman Porter
James Adamson	Pullman Porter
Sam McDaniel	Garage Attendant
Judith Gibson	Pacific All-Risk Telephone Operator
Clarence Muse	Black Man
Miriam Franklin	Keyes' Secretary
William O'Leary	Chaplain
Edward Hearn	Warden's Secretary
Lee Shumway	Door Guard
Boyd Irwin	First Doctor
George Melford	Second Doctor
Alan Bridge	Execution Chamber Guard,Execution Chamber Guard
George Magrill	Man
John Berry	Bit Part
Harold Garrison	Redcap
Teala Loring	Pacific All-Risk Telephone Operator
Constance Purdy	Fat Shopper in Market
Dick Rush	Pullman Conductor
Floyd Shackelford	Pullman Porter
Douglas Spencer	Louis L. ('Lou') Schwartz
Sam Gorlopis	Fortunio Bonanova
Mikl?s R?zsa	Composer

Technical Credits

Raymond Chandler

Billy Wilder

Raymond Chandler	Screenwriter
Joseph Sistrom	Producer
B.G. DeSylva	Executive Producer,Producer
Billy Wilder	Screenwriter
Farciot Edouart	Special Effects
Walter Oberst	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Jack Duffy	Sound Effects
Loren L. Ryder	Sound Effects
Stanley Cooley	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Greed, lust, and actuarial tables -- matched with a drum-tight script, terrific performances, and perfect direction -- add up to a classic L. A. film noir that remains as scintillating today as it was in 1944. Directed by the great Billy Wilder, Double Indemnity stars Fred MacMurray as an insurance salesman who falls for the wife (Barbara Stanwyck) of one of his clients and becomes entangled in a scheme to bump off her husband. MacMurray may play an insurance salesman, but the dialogue is pure hard-boiled detective, all innuendo and double-entendre, with snappy come-ons and comebacks. It’s no wonder -- the script was based on a novella by James M. Cain and co-written by the godfather of American crime fiction, Raymond Chandler. Sporting a beautifully florid, confessional voice-over worthy of Philip Marlowe himself, the masterfully constructed narrative unfolds entirely in flashback -- a storytelling technique Wilder would reprise to great effect in Sunset Boulevard. The lead actors are unforgettable: MacMurray smug and confident from the get-go, Stanwyck subtly seductive and manipulative. Anchoring the proceedings is the legendary Edward G. Robinson in one of his best performances. Perfectly cast as MacMurray’s boss and father figure, he plays a brusque, cigar-smoking claims manager, with a big heart underneath it all, who ends up unraveling the perfect crime. This is genre filmmaking at its finest, and a definitive noir.