Storyline Set in 1938 a sales man, Walter Neff of 'All Risk Insurance Co.,' falls in love with his clients wife Phyllis Dietrichson. They begin an affair which soon turns into a murder plot where they plan to kill Phyllis's current husband and then claim the insurance money. Walter sets up the account so that when the husband dies they will get twice the amount of money due to the 'double indemnity clause'. But complications arise when Walter's friend and college Barton Keyes becomes suspicious when Phyllis's husband turns up on dead on the train tracks days after the insurance policy has been signed. Suspecting foul play on Phyllis's behalf with the aid of another man Keyes starts to look into the case more to the dismay of Walter.
Conventions and Themes
The high contrast black and white the typical and very familiar filming style of Film Noir. The characters too are very recognizable. The femme fatal being the stereotypical 'blonde bombshell' using her femininity to control the protagonist into doing what she wants. Her questionable and murderous morals also give her away as the femme fatal. Walter the leading male protagonist/anti-hero shows all the typical traits also. How he quickly falls for Phyllis and his keen manor to help her without too many quarrels with the plan and the motives behind them. Indicating to the audience that he is from troubled backgrounds and has been prone to dark thoughts similar to the ones proposed by his lover Phyllis. With this being one of the early Film Noir's when the genre was very popular and relevant it displays many of the things that we now expect to see in Film Noir they have been done in a very classic way. Smoking cigars and venetian blinds are used frequently throughout the film in many different situations and settings.
Set in 1938 a sales man, Walter Neff of 'All Risk Insurance Co.,' falls in love with his clients wife Phyllis Dietrichson. They begin an affair which soon turns into a murder plot where they plan to kill Phyllis's current husband and then claim the insurance money. Walter sets up the account so that when the husband dies they will get twice the amount of money due to the 'double indemnity clause'. But complications arise when Walter's friend and college Barton Keyes becomes suspicious when Phyllis's husband turns up on dead on the train tracks days after the insurance policy has been signed. Suspecting foul play on Phyllis's behalf with the aid of another man Keyes starts to look into the case more to the dismay of Walter.
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