English 299B:Film as Narrative Art

Mr. Kelley

Double Indemnity

(Billy Wilder, 1944)

It was raining that night, so I didn’t go out. I lit a fire and sat there, trying to figure out where I was at. I knew where I was at, of course. I was standing right on the deep end, looking over the edge, and I kept telling myself to get out of there, and get quick, and never come back.

But that was what I kept telling myself. What I was doing was peeping over that edge, and all the time I was trying to pull away from it, there was something in me that kept edging a little closer, trying to get a better look.

James M. Cain, Double Indemnity

Points to Consider

• What is the function of the image of the “crippled man” during the credit sequence?

• Consider narrative structure in the film. What function does Walter’s use of the Dictaphone serve?

• Consider point of view in the film. With whom is the audience made to identify?

• What does Walter want? What does he fear?

• Describe Walter’s relationships with Phyllis and with Keyes.

• Consider the use of “doubling,” in which one character “doubles” as, or parallels, another.

• What is the film’s attitude toward women? Toward marriage, children, love, hate?

• Consider the visual style. Is it appropriate to the thematic concerns of the film?

• What is the vision of American society offered in the film?

• Consider the tradition of film noir. What themes, images, patterns, or styles does Double Indemnity share with other films in this tradition?

• Does the film share thematic concerns or styles with any of the other films seen this semester?

Selected Filmography of Billy Wilder

• Lost Weekend (1945)

• Sunset Boulevard (1950)

• Stalag 17 (1953)

• Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

• Some Like It Hot (1959)

• The Apartment (1960)