Double Indemnity directed by Billy Wilder

The film Double Indemnity was released in 1944 and was directed by Billy Wilder. This movie is an example of film noir because it followed many of the themes that a typical film noir introduces and utilizes. The film follows an insurance salesman named Walter Neff who is seduced by one of his clients wives, Mrs. Phyllis Dietrichson. This fatal attraction leads Phyllis to talk Walter into helping her kill her husband and collect the insurance money once he was dead. The film follows the two plotting the murder and the aftermath that came with it.

Double Indemnity follows the guidelines for a classic noir film especially in respects to the setting throughout the film. It begins in a very urban setting, Los Angeles, a place of illusions and crimes. The film also uses small confined places like his car, and his office as well as other spaces all with little to no windows. The effect of no windows allows the film to also follow a noir style of using low key lighting to illustrate the tension in the film. Many of the scenes filmed outside were shot at night and most of the day time scenes were shot inside buildings and the like. The utilization of blinds casting their shadows against the background as well as the characters happened repeatedly within the film. The costume and clothing choices also reflected film noir characteristics like the fedora, the trench coat, and flashy jewelry and glamorous clothing for the female lead. Overall, the film followed the traditional plot of noir films which is that of committing a crime, covering up that crime and then the investigation into that crime all the while a female manipulates the man to her desire.