Transcript Double Indemnity

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
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Lost Weekend (1945)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Stalag 17 (1953)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Apartment (1960)