"Double Indemnity" (1944)

Rank on the AFI List: #29

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Only one thing: it's of the film noir genre.

Film Noir, according to the ever-so dependable Wikipedia, is defined as: "a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation."

LET ME EXPLAIN...
Seeing as how "Double Indemnity" is a film noir, I was apprehensive about watching it, especially since I didn't like The Maltese Falcon. However, after watching this film, I've come to the conclusion that it's not film noir I dislike.  I'm just not a big fan of "The Maltese Falcon".  In other words, I really liked "Double Indemnity".

What did I like about this movie? Well, the use of lighting and shadows was very cool. I thought Barbara Stanwyck's performance was excellent. Edward G. Robinson was also outstanding, and his character - "Keyes" - was my favorite. But the story itself was easily the best thing about this movie.

It had some outstanding suspense (two scenes in particular I remember feeling REALLY nervous that they were going to get caught), and it was very Hitchcock-esque. And to spend the whole movie hoping the characters get away with murder while their plan continues to unravel (not really spoilers, since you know from the very first scene they don't get away with it) made this movie fly by quickly.  I was surprised when I looked down at the clock and realized there were only about 5 minutes left.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
After watching a special on the DVD's "Bonus Features", I got a pretty good idea why this movie is considered one of the greatest ever. First of all, "Double Indemnity" is considered by many to be the first real American "film noir" movie, and seeing how that genre holds a significant niche in film history, it makes sense that the first great example of it is considered one of the best. The story itself was also quite controversial, as it took 8 years before the Hollywood Production Code allowed it to be filmed because it centered around such an immoral plot (and I'm learning that controversy in a well-made film usually helps boost its significance in film history). It also received seven Oscar nominations in 1944. And from my perspective, the story had great suspense and the basic idea has been re-done so many times since that it seems to be quite the groundbreaking plot.

My complaint (or, in honor of Keyes, "What the little man inside me says")...
The ending. Maybe I missed the subtleties of it, or I just couldn't appreciate it enough. Up until the last 5 to 10 minutes, I was ready to give this a solid 8/10, but the ending seemed really flat and anti-climactic, and it made my opinion of the whole movie drop a bit.

LET ME SUM UP...
This is a great story of suspense and could almost be mistaken for a Hitchcock film. Even though elements in this movie have been re-used in many suspense-thrillers since 1944, I found it to have some original excitement. Up until the ending, I was extremely entertained and found the first hour and 40 minutes to fly by.

MY RATING: 7.5/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 54