tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post4451815646243574958..comments2024-01-11T05:02:32.321-05:00Comments on Goodfella's Movie Blog: #7: Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-65174077566076045172010-04-19T13:04:23.578-04:002010-04-19T13:04:23.578-04:00"Back then I was more into partying and chasi..."Back then I was more into partying and chasing girls then schoolwork or film history."<br /><br />LOL Maurizio!!! Didn't we all? Ha!<br /><br />Thanks for sharing!Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-929047936998312162010-04-19T07:52:47.225-04:002010-04-19T07:52:47.225-04:00Dave, another wonderful pick! This statement remi...Dave, another wonderful pick! This statement reminds me of CARLITO'S WAY:<br /><br />"It is also amazing how tense this film at times can be, when considering that from the opening scenes the audience basically knows the conclusion."<br /><br />I know that De Palma was heavily influenced by DOUBLE INDEMNITY for his film. And they both achieve this amazing feat of making the audience forget about the ending even though they've already seen it once. <br /><br />Great stuff, Dave!Jeffrey Goodmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464544798603030406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-59178709453452346942010-04-18T20:28:47.273-04:002010-04-18T20:28:47.273-04:00Sam I remember him being very intelligent and a re...Sam I remember him being very intelligent and a really good professor. Back then I was more into partying and chasing girls then schoolwork or film history. I don't think I ever contributed to any discussions or even truly paid attention. Obviously it had some effect since I did acquire a love for film. I just wish I would of been more involved and been more attentive lol........M.RocaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-14986920585013014762010-04-18T17:47:53.133-04:002010-04-18T17:47:53.133-04:00Dave, I've never been a huge fan of MacMurray ...Dave, I've never been a huge fan of MacMurray but I've been doing some reading on Melville for my upcoming series, and I came across this part of an interview. It's very interesting...<br /><br />Interviewer: You obtain a quality of underplaying from your actors which is particularly evident in Le Doulos.<br /><br />Melville: It was an American actor, of course, who invented underplaying: Fred MacMurray. The uncharitable say that this came about because he couldn't act, but it isn't true. Even today, when you see Fred MacMurray's early films, you can't help being astonished by the economy of means with which he achieves his effects. Looking at the films of that period, one can see that it was only after he had shown the way that other actors, Bogart, for instance, tuned to the same pitch. In the American cinema today, James Garner might be considered the great champion of underplaying.<br /><br />Interviewer: But he's very bad in Wyler's The Loudest Whisper.<br /><br />Melville: Nothing's bad in that film. It's a masterpiece. Your lack of taste appalls me!<br /><br />(Apparently they're referring to The Children's Hour, which was released as The Loudest Whisper in parts of Europe.)Doniphonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02407443845368110678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-12143699753138417232010-04-18T17:45:20.082-04:002010-04-18T17:45:20.082-04:00Shubhajit: I do not myself consider CASABLANCA as...Shubhajit: I do not myself consider CASABLANCA as a noir, and really don't expect Dave to include it here. But you've now intrigued me!!! Ha!!!Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-91079577068499096862010-04-18T17:43:17.148-04:002010-04-18T17:43:17.148-04:00"I was attending Brooklyn College and I took ..."I was attending Brooklyn College and I took a course on The History Of Film. My professor was Forster Hirsch who has written a few books on noir."<br /><br />Wow, Maurizio!! I envy you there as Hirsch has indeed written a seminal volume on noir, and he's made appearances at the Jersey City Loewes over the past few years, speaking at several noir screenings. He is a most engaging guy, but I'm sure you know that well!!!Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-50935241747491646902010-04-18T17:26:07.553-04:002010-04-18T17:26:07.553-04:00Quirky Character - Agreed.
John - Yes, I know of ...Quirky Character - Agreed.<br /><br />John - Yes, I know of your love for this film. I think reasonable arguments can be made for at least five different films being Wilder's best. I give the nod to The Apartment, but think Double Indemnity is is best noir.<br /><br />Sam - This was certainly a valid contender for #1, but the ones ahead of it are classics as well.<br /><br />Quirky Character - I would say Keyes is "good character" but he can also be read as something reviled in U.S. today - the insurance agent who will do anything to keep from paying out money! (LOL)<br /><br />Nostromo - The final six should be fun.<br /><br />M.Roca - Great story and I agree, I could watch this film any time.<br /><br />Shubhajit - I won't spoil anything for you! When all is said and done I'll address some films and why they might not have been included. Your thoughts on Double Indemnity, though, are spot on. Dietrichson really might be the ultimate femme fatale in this one.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-61223906256342174992010-04-18T14:52:55.671-04:002010-04-18T14:52:55.671-04:00Dave, great stuff here.
I'd read your review ...Dave, great stuff here.<br /><br />I'd read your review of Double Indemnity when you were doing your yearly countdown, and hence it comes as no surprise that it rates so high in your noir list - and rightly so. Personally, I'd rate Sunset Blvd as Wilder's greatest film, but Double Indemnity might just have been his most classic noir, i.e. where following and edifying the classic noir template goes. <br /><br />This also happens to be one of those rare movies that ranks as good as the source material, the fantastic roman noir by James M. Cain. Nearly everything is perfect here, and in Barbara Stanwyck's Phyllis Dietrichson we have one of the most iconic femme fatale characters in noir history.<br /><br />Ok, the next 6 in your list will hopefully have these movies as you haven't already covered them - The Killers, Out of the Past, In A Lonely Place & Night of the Hunter; but in what order? If you consider Casablanca, too, as a noir, as I do, it should also be somewhere up there. Further, since you have included a couple of movies outside the classic noir era, how about Breathless & Shoot the Piano Player? :)Shubhajithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02040495040897333606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-87019001698140494452010-04-18T13:34:27.091-04:002010-04-18T13:34:27.091-04:00I have fond memories of the first time I saw this ...I have fond memories of the first time I saw this movie. I was attending Brooklyn College and I took a course on The History Of Film. My professor was Forster Hirsch who has written a few books on noir. He spent one class dedicated to the above genre and the picture we viewed was Double Indemnity. It was right after I had seen Murder My Sweet so noir was still something totally new to me. I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed the film. It started my love for older movies that I had previously considered dated or unworthy of my attention. A Wilder masterpiece that I can watch over and over.........M.RocaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-71112498339336194032010-04-18T12:57:17.753-04:002010-04-18T12:57:17.753-04:00I waited to see in which place you will put it. :)...I waited to see in which place you will put it. :)<br />This is my favourite noir. I adore the Chandler's script, Stanwyck's part and almost everything in it. It will be interesting to see next position.Nostromohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03018090776543484585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-24027043584210005152010-04-18T12:14:48.500-04:002010-04-18T12:14:48.500-04:00Mr. Juliano, why do you say "nobody is any go...Mr. Juliano, why do you say "nobody is any good"? Surely, Edward G. Robinson's character is irreproachable, no?Quirky Characterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13590664018386916883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-41099813204878000802010-04-18T09:07:29.554-04:002010-04-18T09:07:29.554-04:00One of the towering masterpieces of film noir and ...One of the towering masterpieces of film noir and of film in general,and one that I honestly was thinking would vie for your #1 position with a certain 'model' of the form that I will leave anonymous at this point, though you do offer a subtle clue here that corroborates my suspicions. Still, in the Top 10 is fair enough for this Wilder masterpiece, which immediately follows another by the same director. I greatly appreciated your additions here discussing the work of John Seitz. And from the body of the review this passage holds up magnificently as does the entire essay:<br /><br />"The flashbacks, the shadows, the dark lighting, the femme fatale, the unforgiving determinism – all of these components are on display here. But with Chandler involved in the screenplay and Wilder involved in both the screenplay and direction, there is the unmistakable quality of everything being a bit tongue-in-cheek."<br /><br />This of course is one of the noirs where nobody is any good. Ha!Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-79272046612522166022010-04-18T07:00:19.393-04:002010-04-18T07:00:19.393-04:00Dave,
As you would expect, no argument from me, a ...Dave,<br />As you would expect, no argument from me, a brilliant film (with the exception of Stanwyck's blonde wig, lol), perfectly constructed, great cinematography and a superlative screenplay by Wilder and Chandler. A film I can watch over and over again and never get tired of.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01808503055317962289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-578997264816756307.post-73807160871752989582010-04-18T06:59:21.498-04:002010-04-18T06:59:21.498-04:00A masterpiece. 'Nuff said. And I really, reall...A masterpiece. 'Nuff said. And I really, really like to watch E.G.R. as a good guy.Quirky Characterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13590664018386916883noreply@blogger.com