, directed by Billy Wilder
, co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler
, and produced by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Sistrom. The script was based on James M. Cain's
1935 novella of the same title
which originally appeared as an eight-part serial in Liberty magazine.
The film stars Fred MacMurray
as an insurance salesman, Barbara Stanwyck
as a provocative housewife who wishes her husband were dead, and Edward G. Robinson
as a claims adjuster whose job is to find phony claims. The term double indemnity refers to a clause in certain life insurance policies that doubles the payout in cases when death is caused by accidental means.
Praised by many critics when first released, Double Indemnity was nominated for seven Academy Awards
but did not win any.
It was a hot afternoon, and I can still remember the smell of honeysuckle all along that street. How could I have known that murder can sometimes smell like honeysuckle?
Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money and for a woman. I didn't get the money and I didn't get the woman. Pretty, isn't it?'
Murder is never perfect. It always comes apart sooner or later. When two people are involved, it's usually sooner. Now we know the Dietrichson dame is in it and the somebody else. Pretty soon, we'll know who that somebody else is. He'll show. He's got to show. Sometime, somewhere, they've got to meet. Their emotions are all kicked up. Whether it's love or hate, it doesn't matter. They can't keep away from each other.
From the Moment they met it was Murder!
You Can't Kiss Away A Murder!