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)