Double Indemnity written by Raymond Chandler
and Billy Wilder
Another
version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E
and
http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is one
of the best films, found on this and other respectable lists:
And Double
Indemnity has been present in my preoccupations lately.
Not because
I plan a crisscross, to “swap murders” like in Strangers on the Train, Throw
Mama from the Train and others.
First of
all, I have listened to a play about the writing of the script for the film,
with Billy Wilder inviting Raymond Chandler to work together.
The latter
refuses, in the first place, then he tries to tolerate the smoking and what he
thought was the obnoxious manner of the director.
The director
Billy wilder was also unimpressed, from the moment he first saw Raymond
Chandler, who “looked like an accountant”.
Raymond Chandler
was new in the “Screen Trade” and the first draft, eighty pages long, could not
be used.
But the
writer was ultimately responsible for the excellent dialogue and the
substantial modifications operated on the original material.
What James
Cain has written in the novel, could not translate well on the screen and
although he opposed the changes, Billy Wilder would eventually understand his
mistake.
The play
about the writing of the script has a lot of tension and it is inspired by real
events and the much publicized commentary, complaints offered by both sides,
with accusations of lack of respect, because Raymond Chandler was not invited
for the awards or the press conference and the response from Wilder:
-
How could we invite him?
-
He was under the table at Lucy’s
When he
worked for the script, Raymond Chandler was a recovering alcoholic and the
stress of this task brought him back to drinking.
The narrative
of the film is stupendous and the work of Billy Wilder and Raymond chandler has
made film history.
Walter Neff
is an insurance salesman who meets the beautiful Phyllis Dietrichson, played by
Barbara Stanwyck.
TIME
Magazine considers her performance outstanding and one of the most notable, in
one of the most acclaimed films ever.
Phyllis tries
to convince Walter to have an accident insurance made for her husband, without
the spouse knowing about it.
At first,
the man is rejecting the idea, somewhat outraged by what would be a serious
crime, with a term of many years in jail.
But seduced
by the beauty of the woman, Walter is the one to concoct a plan that would not
just mean the end of Mr. Dietrichson, but a daring insurance claim
He explains
that in the case of very unlikely accidents, the insurance company pays twice
the usual amount.
Trains are
considered very safe and therefore a death during a trip on one would represent
the jackpot:
-
A Double Indemnity
Of course,
they have to be very careful, plan all the details in advance and stick to the
plan, because the alternative is the gas chamber.
So he
explains to his lover and would be partner- at least in Walter’s imagination-
what needs to be done.
They will
have to keep away from each other and do everything so that his (former) friend
at the firm would not figure the plot out.
Barton Keyes,
played very well by Edward G. Robinson- an actor that I heard was born in my
country- is a specialist and knows when a claim is false.
Without a
spoiler alert, I will stop giving details long before the denouement of the
movie, which I will only say differs from the play I listened to a few months
ago.
But when
the case arrives at the insurance company, foul play is suspected, but not by
Keyes, but by an executive.
Who thinks
they are dealing with…suicide.
Excellent classic
that made history, even if it did not win any of the Academy Awards it was
nominated for.
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