DOUBLE INDEMNITY ~ Ultimate Film Noir
Billy Wilder was at the top of his game when he made this quintessential film noir masterpiece. Based on a James M. Cain novel, Wilder co-scripted with Raymond Chandler this is the serpentining classic of a insurance salesman ( a disarmingly hard-edged Fred MacMurray ) lured into a devious plot from the restless wife ( a fiendishly femme fa tale, Barbara Stanwyck ) to kill her lout of a husband to collect on a new policy that would pay off twice the benefit. Masterful direction, tightly wound set pieces and a terrific cast including Edward G. Robinson as the insurance company's false claims adjuster make this one of the all-time greats of not only the Wilder cannon but of all 1940's silver screen crime thrillers!