4. Double Indemnity (1944)
Dir. Billy Wilder Cast: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson The classic tale- an insurance investigator stumbles across a beautiful and lonely housewife. Of course Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) falls head over heels for Phyllis (Barbara Stanwyck) and they come up with a plot to get rid of her husband and make a little money out of it as well Double Indemnity has the classic noir plot of a maybe-not-so-nice guy falling for a femme fatale. The film comes from a novel by one of the hardboiled titans James M. Cain. Adding to its prestige the novel was adapted by the director and another great- Raymond Chandler, so of course the script is peppered with so many killer lines. That hardboiled talk is one of the cornerstones of film noir, and its hard to find better that the ones from this. In his time, Fred MacMurray was famous for playing nice guy roles, and it was a genius move on Wilders part to cast him as the guy who didnt need much nudging to get into adultery and murder. Billy Wilder cast him against type again in The Apartment, this time playing a complete (insert your own expletive here), and if anything those two roles are the one he is now most remembered for. Along with Out of the Past, this is one of the best places to start with noir. All the essential ingredients are here. Double Indemnity is a dark, smart thriller. Key Line: Walter: How could I have known that murder could sometimes smell like honeysuckle?