DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)

* * * *

D: Billy Wilder (Barbara Stanwyck, Fred McMurray, Edward G. Robinson)

PG, b/w-107m, USA

Tagline: From the Moment They met it was Murder!

How could he know that murder could sometimes smell like honeysuckle?

Based on James M. Cain's 1943 classic novel, this sordid tale of an ice-cold housewife who conspires with an insurance salesman to kill her husband scores on every level. Barbara Stanwyck sets the bar high with her portrayal of a heartless femme fatale. She wasn't conventionally beautiful, but she's so compelling in personality and perverse sensuality ("That's one honey of an ankle bracelet."), that it doesn't matter. No one equals Phyllis Dietrichson, in presence and genuine evil, with a few exceptions (Mattie Walker (Body Heat, 1981), Bridget Gregory (The Last Seduction, 1994).

Perfect film. Even with the silly blonde wig, Stanwyck is the ultimate femme fatale. The dialogue is brilliant: sharp, cutting, and hilarious. McMurray wasn't known for his villain roles (except in The Apartment), but he's completely believable as a smart schemer who underestimates the ones who can really do him damage.

The latter even gives a sly nod to Indemnity's characters' names. E.G. Robinson steals the show as their unwitting nemesis. The script just crackles.