What is the message in Double Indemnity?
Like most hardboiled crime literature of the 1930s and 1940s, Double Indemnity paints a picture of humanity as corrupt and evil. Humans are self-serving and greedy, ruled by their baser passions. In this case, insurance salesman Walter Huff is driven by the desire for money, sex, and power.
How does Lola portray Double Indemnity?
The weak and terrified Lola forms a stark contrast to her. Pretty but modest and never shown in a sexually alluring way, she has little if any control over the men in her life, from her father to her rather abrupt boyfriend. In a way however, she is also objectified.
What is the main idea of Double Indemnity?
Double Indemnity is a story that revolves around a woman’s attempts not only to have her oil baron husband murdered, but to profit immensely from it. Wilder presents Phyllis Dietrichson as a materialistic housewife, whose trinkets such as her anklet and lipstick signal both indulgent affluence and excessive eroticism.
What is the meaning of fatale?
: a seductive woman who lures men into dangerous or compromising situations.
What happens to Phyllis in Double Indemnity?
In the novella, Phyllis is a former nurse who was suspected of killing several children in her care; the case was dropped for lack of evidence. Also, in the novel’s climax, she escapes with Neff (here called Huff) and goes away with him on an ocean liner; there, she kills him, too.
What is the plot of Double Indemnity?
In this classic film noir, insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) gets roped into a murderous scheme when he falls for the sensual Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who is intent on killing her husband (Tom Powers) and living off the fraudulent accidental death claim. Prompted by the late Mr. Dietrichson’s daughter, Lola (Jean Heather), insurance investigator Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) looks into the case, and gradually begins to uncover the sinister truth.
Double Indemnity/Film synopsis
What are the characteristics of a femme fatale?
We described a femme fatale as being beautiful, one who leads the main character into danger, and feigns naivete or weakness to hide manipulative goals. Phyllis Dietrichson had all of these characters and then some. In the beginning of the movie, we are introduced to her with nothing on but a bathrobe.
When is Double Indemnity and body heat showing?
Double Indemnity and Body Heat make a dangerous double feature, screening together July 15 th & 16 th at the New Bev. One of the greatest things film noir ever did was establish the femme fatale.
Why was the femme fatale important in film noir?
One of the greatest things film noir ever did was establish the femme fatale. An alluring and intoxicating character, she is the figure in the film that wields the most power, the best and the worst thing to happen to the protagonist.
What happens to Walter in Double Indemnity movie?
When Walter decides to help commit the murder Phyllis agrees with no hesitation; “straight down the line”. After the crime is successful, Walter becomes more and more paranoid and guilty as time goes on. Deep down he still has a heart and killing someone is eating him up inside.