Name______

Double Indemnity (1944) Dir. Billy Wilder Based on the novella Three of a Kind by James M. Cain “The streets were dark with something more than night.” --Raymond Chandler, The Art of Murder

Opening Sequences

1. The opening sequences firmly establish Walter Neff as the person from whose point of view we are going to hear the story. How does the filmmaker do this?

2. Why does the camera look down on Walter Neff’s car as it speeds through the night city nearly out of control? (Why has the filmmaker chosen this to open the sequence?)

3. When do we get to see Walter’s face up close? Why has the filmmaker taken so long to give us this close-up? (Consider what he’s doing at his point.)

5. Why is Walter sweaty and short-of-breath?

4. What specific contrasts can you identify between the scene in Walter’s office and the scene at Phyllis Dietrichson’s home? What does meaning do these contrasts have?

5. How does the filmmaker introduce us to Phyllis? Describe her appearance and explain how the camera draws attention to her. 6. Examine carefully all the objects you see in Phyllis’ house when she first meets Walter Neff and then see how often they recur throughout the film and when. *When do they recur?

*What might be the significance of these items?

7. Why does the camera follow her legs through the stairs instead of directly on them? (What does it suggest? Listen to Walter’s narration during the shot.)

8. Describe how the camera builds up our expectation that she will have power over Walter.

9. Look at the way the light is filtered in the house. Which sources of fractured light can you identify?

10. What editing, camera work, and/or visual effects are used to reveal the flashbacks?

11. What’s the meaning or significance of the cryptic conversation Walter and Phyllis have about the speed limit?

11. What specific details of the mise-en-scène accentuate the anxiety, paranoia, and disillusionment characteristic of Film Noir? (LIST AT LEAST FIVE)

12. What words or phrases does Walter use that characterize the hard-boiled (cynical), witty character types typical of Noir? 13. What are three moods that the filmmaker evokes?

14. How does the filmmaker evoke each of them?

15. In what scenes does the filmmaker use distinct high and low angles? (LIST AT LEAST THREE)

16. List THREE incidents (either events or dialogue) that foreshadow later events.

17. What tactics does Phyllis use to entrap Walter into her scheme? (LIST AT LEAST THREE)

18. How is the acting different than in contemporary films?

19. What is a “double indemnity”?

20. What twists are thrown into the story?

21. What is the theme?

22. What is your overall opinion of this movie? Did you like it? Why/why not?