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Double Indemnity

1944

Billy Wilder

Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Tom Powers ...

8.4

34,632

Film noir. Mystery. Thriller Unsuspecting Mr. Dietrichson becomes increasingly accident prone after his icily calculating wife (Barbara Stanwyck) encourages him to sign a double indemnity policy proposed by a smooth-talking insurance agent (Fred MacMurray). Against a backdrop of distinctly California settings, the partners in crime plan the perfect murder to collect on the insurance. Perfect until a claims manager (Edward G. Robinson) gets a familiar feeling of ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Douglas Pratt The Hollywood Reporter	"A brilliant collision of evil and the mundane"	POS
United States	Variety	"A story replete with suspense (...) MacMurray has seldom given a better performance"	POS
United States	Bosley Crowther The New York Times	"Such folks as delight in murder stories for their academic elegance alone should find this one steadily diverting, despite its monotonous pace and length"	POS
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"Few other directors have made so many films that were so taut, savvy, cynical and, in many different ways and tones, funny (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United Kingdom	Marc Lee Telegraph	"It breaks the rules of filmmaking with breathtaking confidence and is all the more satisfying for it (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Paul Howlett The Guardian	"I love 'Double Indemnity' because it's about a couple who are cheap and greedy, but achieve a kind of tragic heroism; because it has one of the great father-son relationships"	POS
United Kingdom	Rob Fraser Empire	"Film noir at its finest, a template of the genre, etc. Billy Wilder in full swing, Barbara Stanwyck's finest hour, and Fred MacMurray makes a great chump (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Dan Callahan Slant	"[It] improves a little as it goes along, and it would be churlish to deny some of the pleasures to be had from its construction and dialogue, but it's a famous movie that doesn't bear much close inspection (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	NEU
United States	Chris Willman Entertainment Weekly	"Barbara Stanwyck cracks wise too, while dripping pheromones"	POS

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