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Double Indemnity
Series: BFI Film Classics
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Format: Paperback / softback
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This book is ideal for readers interested in film history, noir cinema, and the art of classic Hollywood filmmaking. It also appeals to fans of crime fiction and those who appreciate detailed studies of iconic movies and their cultural significance.
Richard Schickel traces in fascinating detail the genesis of the film: its literary origins in the crime fiction of the 1930s, the difficult relations between Wilder and his scriptwriter Raymond Chandler, the casting of a reluctant Fred MacMurray, the late decision to cut from the film the expensively shot final sequence of Neff's execution.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
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Description
A new kind of film emerged from Hollywood in the early 1940s, thrillers that derived their plots from the hard-boiled school of crime fiction but with a style all their own. Appearing in 1944, Double Indemnity was a key film in the definition of the genre that came to be known as film noir. Its script creates two unforgettable criminal characters: the cynically manipulative Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) and the likeable but amoral Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray).
Billy Wilder's brilliant direction enmeshes them in chiaroscuro patterns, the bright California sun throwing shadows of venetian blinds across dusty rooms, shafts of harsh lamplight cutting through the night.
Richard Schickel traces in fascinating detail the genesis of the film: its literary origins in the crime fiction of the 1930s, the difficult relations between Wilder and his scriptwriter Raymond Chandler, the casting of a reluctant Fred MacMurray, the late decision to cut from the film the expensively shot final sequence of Neff's execution.
This elegantly written account, copiously illustrated, confirms anew the status of Double Indemnity as an undisputed classic.
Series: BFI Film Classics
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Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780851702988
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 September 1992
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: BFI Publishing
Illustration: 30 b&w illustrations
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 8.0mm
Width: 134.0mm
Height: 188.0mm
Weight: 120g
Pages: 72
About the Author
Richard Schickel is a film critic of Time. His most recent book is Brando: A Life in our Times.
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Double Indemnity
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