Banned in occupied countries during the war, these films became available throughout. With this statement, we begin to understand one of the reasons why double indemnity is regarded so highly and is considered the subgenres prototype. Double indemnity is a 1944 american film noir directed by billy wilder, cowritten by wilder and. Cains classic crime novel, fred macmurray stars as insurance salesman walter neff, barbara stanwyck is the sultry housewife phyllis who convinces him to bump off her husband for the insurance money, and edward g. Double indemnity works because its a story we can relate to. Following the releases of the vintage paramount scores the lost weekend and desert fury, intradas next entry is a 2cd set featuring seven different composers writing for film noir classics. Double indemnity was nominated for 7 academy awards. Seitz, double indemnitys use of venetian blind lighting creating a jail bars effect that foreshadows the likely, if not actual, fate of its protagonists was to go on become a staple of the film noir look. 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 film noir at paramount soundtrack cd details and availability. Double indemnity, american film noir, released in 1944, that was considered the quintessential movie of its genre. Paramounts publicity people had an awful eye for color, as the hideous double indemnity poster shows.
A mesmerizing film noir conceived out of a troubled relationship of two greats. The film stars fred macmurray as an insurance salesman, barbara stanwyck as a provocative. He was known as a comedic writer but he wanted to do more. Double indemnity, one of the highest summits of film noir, is a film without a single trace of pity or love. Director billy wilder created what has become a classic film noir with this, his third u. Intrada has released a 2 cd set called film noir at paramount which includes double indemnity, ace in the hole, sorry, wrong number, the desperate hours, the scarlet hour, union station, and i walk alone. Paramount bought the rights in 1942, and created a film noir classic that was nominated for. Billy wilders double indemnity is a classic film noir and a classic crime drama about bad people doing bad things and doing them badly. The original well preserved music as heard in the film. The manipulator, phyllis dietrichson, doesnt need much to see how walter desires her. In many ways, woody allens quote encompasses all the main elements that make billy wilders double indemnity paramount pictures, usa. Cains novel three of a kind, on which the film was based.
Double indemnity september 5th 1944 1 hour and 47 minutes starring frank macmurray paramount an insurance rep lets himself be talked into a murderinsurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigators suspicions. Double indemnity was directed by billy wilder who used his movie making instincts to create a classic film noir all others would be measured by. Jul 18, 2015 double indemnity portrayed suburbia as a place of insurance cheats, bored housewives, and murderers instead of the white picket fences of the andy hardy series. Double indemnity film noir at paramount soundtrack compilation. Film noir at paramount intrada special collection score 2cd. Cains double indemnity and the film adaptation by billy wilder and raymond chandler for the may noir book of the month club. The original cain material was adapted for the screen by billy wilder and raymond chandler.
What is the song heard through the window during the climax. Jan 31, 2009 fred macmurray and barbara stanwyck in a superbly crafted scene from billy wilders 1944 film noir classic, double indemnity. Double indemnity was a huge hit that helped fuel the postwar boom in films noir. Double indemnity is one of the most unrelentingly cynical films the genre produced, with a pair of careerchanging performances from barbara stanwyck and fred macmurray and a script by wilder and raymond chandler every bit as blackhearted as james m. On the other hand, phyllis was supposed to look cheap, so maybe they were onto something.
This set featuring seven different composers writing for film noir classics. Double indemnity film noir at paramount soundtrack. It followed the timehonoured noir plotline of a man undone by an evil woman. Billy wilders double indemnity he cowrote it with raymond chandler is a widely regarded paradigmatic film noir wrought with tropes of the genre. Film noir at paramount double indemnity film music. Everett collection rex features the film was shot by john seitz like a textbook noir. Outdoors its nearly always night, while the interiors, at the dietrichson. Cains 1943 novella of the same name, which originally appeared as an eightpart serial in liberty magazine, beginning in february 1936. Paramount was clearly backing the crosby picture for the show and it. Search the internet movie database for double indemnity. Double indemnity contains another film noir staple in the form of mrs. Double indemnity is a 1944 film noir directed by billy wilder, cowritten by wilder and raymond chandler, and produced by buddy desylva and joseph sistrom. Double indemnity film noir at paramount soundtrack, music by composer miklos rozsa, hugo friedhofer, franz waxman, victor young, leith. Double indemnity 1944 and 1973 paramount pictures, 107m 39s my favorite of all film noirs was based on the 1935 novella by james m.
Cain, author of the postman always rings twice 1934 and mildred pierce 1941. Reproductions can be great especially if the originals are unavailable. The phrase film noir was first coined in 1946 by a group of french critics to describe the emerging. Oct 10, 2000 double indemnity movie yify subtitles.
Its a rich narrative environment that has been explored in. Its an ancient story, older than the bible and the. Movie music by composer miklos rozsa, hugo friedhofer. There is a greedy woman trapped in a bad marriage, who sees the opportunity when she encounters an insurance agent who is instantly smitten with her and who has only sex in his mind.
Cinema style filebarbara stanwyck straight down the line in. Jan 31, 2015 supplements ported over from the dualdisc dvd released by universal in 2006 include two audio commentary tracks, the first by richard schickel, who explains the development of film noir as a hollywood genre and double indemnity s place in it as the first true noir film. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content biesen censorship, film noir, and double indemnity the film archive double indemnityand the code. Double indemnity film wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Project muse censorship, film noir, and double indemnity. Classic film noir prison bar shadows cover the wall of phyllis fancy living room.
Double indemnity september 5th 1944 1 hour and 47 minutes starring frank macmurray paramount. Fred macmurray and barbara stanwyck in a superbly crafted scene from billy wilders 1944 film noir classic, double indemnity. 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. Nov 03, 2015 paramount pictures, the studio behind double indemnity, had used the composition in the fleets in 1942 only to reprise it here, as it was common practice for studios of the era to recycle their catalogs. This cd set is everything a film noir collector could want. Passed 1h 47min crime, drama, filmnoir 6 july 1944 usa. An analysis of billy wilders double indemnity inquiries. The film is shot in affinitive blackandwhite, which is great for creating.
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. An insurance rep lets himself be talked into a murderinsurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigators suspicions. Its in black and white, it has fast badinage, its very witty, a story from the classic age. A mesmerizing film noir conceived out of a troubled relationship of two greats 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. It is with this character, however, that the story suffers its one weakness. Cain and with a screenplay by wilder and raymond chandler, this thriller keeps audiences. Double indemnity double indemnity, american film noir, released in 1944, that was considered the quintessential movie of its genre. Paramount s publicity people had an awful eye for color, as the hideous double indemnity poster shows. Billy wilders double indemnity 1944 wasnt the first film noir, but it was the beginning of a new phase in miklos rozsas already stellar career.
Miklos rozsa, hugo friedhofer, franz waxman, gail kubik. I knew when i committed to doing a month dedicated to film noir style on glamamor that double indemnity would have to enter into it. Its a good thing those noir films were in blackandwhite. Billy wilder only made one proper film noir, but it was a doozy. In double indemnity 1944, when walter fred macmurray comes to the home of phyllis barbara stanwyck for their final confrontation, the scene is bathed in darkness.
Early examples of the noir style include dark, stylized detective films such as john hustons the maltese falcon 1941, frank tuttles this gun for hire 1942, otto premingers laura 1944, and edward dmytryks murder, my sweet 1944. Golden age is a cinema and bar in the old screening room of the heritagelisted paramount pictures building in surry hills, sydney. Paramount advertised other noirs by comparing them to double indemnity. Original motion picture soundtrack for the movie double indemnity. Schickel notes the film s various detours from the source material, many. Film noir at paramount soundtrack from 19441956, composed by hugo friedhofer, gail kubik, heinz roemheld, miklos rozsa, leith stevens, franz waxman, victor young. Previous article wild geese ii deluxe soundtrack by roy budd. Film noir at paramount score intrada ltd 2cd sealed sold out at the best online. A calculating wife encourages her wealthy husband to sign a double indemnity policy proposed by smitten insurance agent walter neff. An insurance representative lets himself be talked into a murderinsurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigators suspicions.
It was up against another paramount film starring bing crosby called going my way. The film was adapted by director billy wilder and writer raymond chandler from the 1935 novella by james. Film noir is a fairly abstract genre usually involving good people doing bad things and bad people doing worse, but one thing that defines film noirs are their dark and hazy tone. Movie music by composer miklos rozsa, hugo friedhofer, franz waxman, victor young, leith stevens, gail kubik, heinz roemheld.
Rozsa composed three principal motifs for the film. Dec 15, 2015 double indemnity film noir at paramount soundtrack cd details and availability. Film noir at paramount composed by hugo friedhofer, gail kubik, heinz roemheld, miklos rozsa, leith stevens, franz waxman, victor young, released by intrada special collection in 2015. In ads for both ministry of fear 1944 and the unseen 1945, paramount portrayed itself as the leading studio for suspense films because of double indemnity. The golden age of film noir the cinema of the disenchanted. An example of typical raymond chandler dialogue in the script. Wilder, paramount executive william dozier and sistrom decided to move forward anyway. Paramount bought double indemnity, and i was eager to work with cain, but he was tied up working on a picture at fox called western union. 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. Double indemnity is a 1944 american film noir directed by billy wilder, cowritten by wilder and raymond chandler, and produced by buddy desylva and joseph sistrom. Cains 1943 novella of the same name, which originally appeared as an eightpart serial in liberty. Cains 1943 novella of the same name, which originally appeared as an eightpart serial in liberty magazine. Cain, was sought by every hollywood studio in the late 1930s.
The film contains an anachronism related to the use of this music, as the picture is set in 1938, three years before the song was written. The headliner is miklos rozsas oscarwinning score to double indemnity, in near complete form. Wilders first few films as a director in hollywood showed no signs of the shadowy world of film noir he would help create. Double indemnity is arguably the most definitive example of the film noir tone. Jul 29, 2010 billy wilders double indemnity 1944 wasnt the first film noir, but it was the beginning of a new phase in miklos rozsas already stellar career. The making of double indemnity old hollywood films. Released by intrada in 2015 special collection vol. Detrichson, the femmefatale who transforms a confident, highly experienced, nononsense insurance salesman into a wounded, confused sap. What is the song heard through the window during the. They submitted a film treatment crafted by wilder and. Double indemnity is arguably the most famous film noir ever made, and its just one of many extraordinary movies made by paramount pictures. Barbara stanwyck and fred macmurray in double indemnity.
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