Double Indemnity (spoilers)

[Quigley Brown]

Just watched this 1944 film noir favorite for the first time on TCM recently. I must admit that I was quite attracted to Barbara Stanwyck with her blonde hair and sunglasses. I just found the ending a bit corny and unbelievable. Let me get this straight...Fred MacMurray's charactor Walter Neff died because a gunshot wound to his upper arm? He had all that time to treat it before he got up to his boss' office.

 

[WetDog]

I find anything with Fred MacMMurray in it to be a bit too corny for my tastes. But I gotta agree about Stanwyck ... she was a doll in her youth.

Richard

 

[jake_fink]

In the novel and in Wilder's cut of the film Neff died in the gas chamber. In the studio cut, the one you saw, he either died of that gunshot wound or of a broken heart. Either way, not as powerful as the chamber finale.

 

[HaraldTheSwede]

DI is my all time favorite movie, I love it to death. The ending is great as well, nearly perfect. One just has to cut the movie some slack for bullet wound placement.

Stanwyck is strangely attractive for sure, even in that over the top blonde wig.

For a more analytical approach to DI I recommend listening to the OOTP podcast episode about it. It's available in mp3 format, so you can listen to it with just about any media player.

http://outofthepast.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=11592#

 

[Senator Jack]

Billy Wilder is one of those directors for whom I'll allow a few illogicities to slip through. Everything else about his pictures is so great and dead-on that I'll sort of turn a blind eye to the shortcomings.

I see Wetdog and I don't see eye to eye though. I think old Freddie didn't get enough work back in the forties. His delivery is folksy yet citified. He always appears as though he's thinking about the words he's about to deliver, but always in character. I haven't seen it since I was a kid, but I'd love to see 'Murder He Says' again, fortunately available on DVD but unfortunately not yet through Netflix. Does anyone remember that one?

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Andykev]

They shot the gas chamber scene.

In the novel and in Wilder's cut of the film Neff died in the gas chamber. In the studio cut, the one you saw, he either died of that gunshot wound or of a broken heart. Either way, not as powerful as the chamber finale.

They actually shot the final scene with McMurray in the gas chamber, and Robinson oustide watching thru the glass. It was cut from the end of the film, as the "as released" ending left it to the viewer's imagination. Neff was the "evil hero" in the film, and his getting caught in the end satiafied the critics and ratings board of the day.

Fred McMurray was a great, versatile actor. He did everything to this classic, to "The Forrest Rangers", to "The Egg and I" (one of my favorites), all the way to the Shaggy Dog, Flubber, Absent Minded Professor, and My Three Sons on TV.
Quite a range, no?

 

[WetDog]

I see Wetdog and I don't see eye to eye though. I think old Freddie didn't get enough work back in the forties. His delivery is folksy yet citified. He always appears as though he's thinking about the words he's about to deliver, but always in character.

Sorry Jack. Please don't take it personally. I've always seen him as a second-rate Jimmy Stewart. To each his own I guess.

Richard

 

[Doctor Strange]

Hey, you guys didn't mention Fred's best role - as the ultimate "taker", the big boss, Mr. Sheldrake, in another astoundingly brilliant Billy Wilder film, "The Apartment". (My favorite Wilder film after 40+ years of loving so many of them.)

Seeing him play such a smooth heel was a revelation after only knowing him from Disney films and "My Three Sons" - of course, I later saw "Double Indemnity" and realized that he had experience as a bad guy. And he's fascinatingly reprehensible in "The Caine Mutiny" too...

Funny how I really like his villainous performances vs. the goody-goodies he's generally remembered for!

 

[Patrick]

I always thought Fred was very convincing as the paranoid Lt. Keefer in the "The Caine Mutiny".

P.

 

[HaraldTheSwede]

In the novel and in Wilder's cut of the film Neff died in the gas chamber.

Actually the novel didn't end this way. It ended at sea. They were both eaten by sharks if I remember correctly. The movie is quite a bit better than the novel.

 

[Quigley Brown]

This original poster (24x36) is one of the few things to survive my college days. I only bought it because of Fred pointing that pistol...at the time I only knew him from the mild-mannered, pipe-smoking father on 'My Three Sons.' It was quite a few years later that I discovered from watching his early films that he was quite the stud. I've never seen this film and it's not available anywhere that I know of. About five years ago I did the right thing and had it professionally mounted and framed.

 

[The Wolf]

One of my favorites

I might get some bits wrong because I haven't seen it for some time but here goes.
I liked the beginning with MacMurray talking about not getting the money or the girl. I thought Neff's relationship with his boss (Edward G. Robinson) was great. That's part of why I liked the end. To paraphrase: "The reason you couldn't figure it out is I was too close. I was right across the desk" Says Neff. "You were a lot closer than that" says his boss. The only other part I like is the part between the two scenes.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Andykev]

Borderline with Fred McMurray (1950)

Go to IMDB.com (internet movie database) and you will see that Borderline (1950) is available on DVD for UNDER $6.oo

"Borderline (1950)
Starring: Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor Director: William A. Seiter

Borderline
View attachment 1132
Price: $5.95 and eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. See details

Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. See more on holiday shipping.

37 used & new available from $3.11

Edition:

Other Versions (DVD) List Price Price Other Offers:
DVD Borderline $9.98 $8.99 41 used & new from $2.74

 

[WetDog]

Great resource. I didn't even know such a place existed.

Richard

 

[Stiff Collared]

Barbara Stanwyck

If you think that she looked sexy in that phony wig then you should see her with her own beautiful brunette hair in The Lady Eve and Lady of Burlesque. I have loved her for nearly 60 years and run 6 groups for her on Yahoo. If you want to see a photo of us together then take a look at the home page of my main group for her, www.groups.yahoo.com/group/MissBarbaraStanwyck

 

[jake_fink]

HaraldTheSwede said:
Actually the novel didn't end this way. It ended at sea. They were both eaten by sharks if I remember correctly. The movie is quite a bit better than the novel.

Oh yeah. It ends on a boat doesn't it, as the final lines are being written by the narrator like a few of his books. I remember something about stumpy arms... surely not the shark. I'm going to have to dig my copy up.

Thanks Harald.

 

[Mr. 'H']

What a beauty!!!