It's been 10 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.
10. Double Indemnity
A famous film that I, nevertheless, have to beat people over the head to watch. The screenplay is by director Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler and the dialogue crackles with iconic film noir style.
Fred MacMurray is the insurance salesman who comes up with the perfect murder scheme to rid femme fatale Barbara Stanwyck of her husband's annoying presence. Edward G. Robinson is MacMurray's boss, a wily insurance investigator who feels that things don't quite add up. Told in flash-back, the film nonetheless maintains dramatic tension the entire time.
Ironically, all three stars did not want to do the film. MacMurray and Stanwyck because they were cast against type as evil. Robinson because he was not the main star ... yet he carries the film at the end as his line sums up the movie perfectly.
Holy crud! Great movie.
ReplyDeleteBarbara Stanwyk! Before I saw her in this movie, I had only seen her in Big Valley and The Thorn Birds... Wow. In her youth she just smoldered big time...
Love seeing Fred as the shnook / bad guy. Loved him as the creep in The Apartment.
As I child of the '60's most of my youth was spent in front of the TV so it's great to see familiar TV actors in realy meat-y roles!
absolutely awesome movie! I love how her and Fred just play off each other on screen and how she completely sucks him into her world.
ReplyDeleteWonderful!
That was a much more intelligent movie than most... the last scene is great. "I love you too." That more than anything makes you regret all that's happened.
ReplyDeleteFred MacMurray plays an unmarried insurance salesman but he wears a wedding band. . . assuming it was not an oversight.
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