Utente:Michele859/Sandbox15
La fiamma del peccato (Double Indemnity) è un film del 1944 diretto da Billy Wilder e interpretato da Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck e Edward G. Robinson.
Remake:(imdb.connection)
- Doppia indennità (1973 TV Movie, based on the same novel)
- Eruption (1977, based on the same novel)
- Brivido caldo (1981, based on the same novel)
- Jism (2003, having same plot)
Trama
L'agente assicurativo Walter Neff rientra in tarda serata nel suo ufficio presso la compagnia assicuratrice Pacific-All Risk. Nonostante sia stato gravemente ferito da un colpo di rivoltella, Neff riesce a raccontare la sua storia al dittafono del collega Barton Keyes. Neff racconta di come sia stato sedotto da Phyllis Dietrichson,[4] una moglie insoddisfatta, che lo ha convinto a eliminare il marito, più anziano di lei, scontroso e avaro, dopo averle fatto stipulare a suo beneficio una cospicua polizza d'assicurazione sugli infortuni. Per limitare al minimo i sospetti e rendere al contempo valida la clausola di doppia indennità per cui il capitale liquidato in caso di morte viene raddoppiato, Neff elabora un piano che prevede l'uccisione del marito, il trasporto del cadavere con l'auto da parte della complice Phyllis lungo i binari poco prima che arrivi il treno su cui Neff, vestito come la vittima, viene visto salire e dal quale scenderà non visto, approfittando di un rallentamento usuale in quel tratto. Però Neff non ha tenuto conto né della doppiezza della sua complice, né del fiuto e della tenacia del suo collega Barton Keyes, responsabile dell'Ufficio Sinistri della compagnia presso cui Neff lavora.
In 1938, Walter Neff, a successful insurance salesman, returns to his office building in downtown Los Angeles late one night. Visibly in pain and sporting a gunshot wound on his shoulder, he begins dictating a confession into a Dictaphone for his friend and colleague, Barton Keyes, a brilliant claims adjuster. The story, told primarily in flashback, ensues. Neff first meets the alluring Phyllis Dietrichson during a routine house call to remind her husband that his automobile insurance policy is up for renewal. They flirt, until Phyllis asks how she could take out an accident policy on her husband's life without his knowledge. Neff deduces she is contemplating murder, and makes it clear he wants no part of it. However, he cannot get her out of his mind, and when Phyllis shows up at his apartment, he cannot resist her any longer. Neff knows all the tricks of his trade and devises a plan to make the murder of her husband appear to be an accidental fall from a train that will trigger the "double indemnity" clause and pay out twice the policy's face value. After Dietrichson breaks his leg, Phyllis drives him to the Southern Pacific's Glendale train station for a trip to Palo Alto to attend a college reunion. Neff is hiding in the backseat and strangles Dietrichson when Phyllis turns onto a deserted side street. Neff then boards the train posing as Dietrichson and using his crutches. He makes his way to the last car, the observation car, and steps outside to the open platform to supposedly smoke a cigarette. A complication ensues when Neff posing as Dietrichson meets a passenger named Mr. Jackson there, but he manages to get Jackson to leave. Neff then throws the crutches onto the railroad tracks, jumps off the rear train car at a prearranged spot in Burbank to meet up with Phyllis, and drags Dietrichson's body onto the tracks. Mr. Norton, the company's chief, believes the death was suicide, but Keyes scoffs at the idea, quoting statistics indicating the improbability of suicide by jumping off a slow-moving train, to Neff's hidden delight. Keyes suspects foul play on Phyllis' part because he suspected that she was having an affair with another man. Keyes' instincts, which he refers to as the "little man," pointing to his abdomen, continue to nag him about Dietrichson's death. Norton does not suspect foul play at first, but later does and refuses to pay off the accidental death clause, which becomes a problem for both Neff and Phyllis. Like Keyes, Norton also wonders why Dietrichson did not file a claim for his broken leg, and deduces Dietrichson did not know about the policy. Keyes tells Neff of his theory outside Neff's apartment, while Phyllis hides behind the door. Keyes soon concludes that Phyllis and some unknown accomplice murdered Dietrichson for the insurance money, but needs more proof. Keyes, however, is not Neff's only worry. The victim's daughter, Lola, comes to him, convinced that stepmother Phyllis is behind her father's death. Lola's mother also died under suspicious circumstances, when Phyllis was her nurse. Neff begins seeing Lola, at first to keep her from going to the police with her suspicions. This later changes because he is plagued by guilt and a sense of responsibility to protect her from Phyllis. Neff suspects she will murder Lola because of both her suspicion in her parents' murders and to take the inheritance for herself. Before his death, Mr. Dietrichson found out that Phyllis planned to kill him for financial gain and changed his will to prevent it. In his will, he left both his business and money to Lola as his primary beneficiary, leaving Phyllis with nothing. Keyes brings Jackson to Los Angeles, suspecting that the man aboard the train had not been Dietrichson, but rather had been Phyllis' accomplice in Dietrichson's murder. After examining photographs of Dietrichson, Jackson is sure that the man he met in the observation car was at least ten years younger. Now certain that he can prove murder, Keyes is eager to reject the claim and force Phyllis to sue. Neff warns Phyllis not to pursue the insurance claim in court and admits that he has been talking to Lola about her past. Phyllis, however, insists on filing suit to pursue the claim despite the risk to both her and Neff. Lola eventually tells Neff that she has discovered that her boyfriend, the hotheaded Nino Zachetti, has been seeing Phyllis behind her (and Neff's) back. When Neff learns that Keyes suspects Nino of being Phyllis' accomplice, Neff sees a way out of his predicament. He arranges to meet Phyllis at her house. He informs her that he knows about her involvement with Nino, and guesses that she is planning to have Nino kill him. He tells her that he intends to kill her and put the blame on Nino. She is prepared, however, and shoots him in the shoulder. Seriously wounded but still standing, he slowly comes closer and dares her to shoot again. She does not, and he takes the gun from her. She says she never loved him "until a minute ago, when I couldn't fire that second shot." Neff does not believe a word she says, and as she hugs him tightly, Neff says, "Goodbye, baby," and shoots twice, killing her. Outside, Neff waits for Nino to arrive (something Neff had orchestrated). Neff advises him not to enter the house and instead to go to Lola, the woman who loves him. Nino is reluctantly convinced and leaves as told. Neff drives to his office and starts speaking into his Dictaphone, as seen at the film's opening. Keyes arrives unnoticed and hears enough to know the truth. Keyes sadly tells him, "Walter, you're all washed up." Neff tells Keyes he is going to Mexico rather than face the gas chamber, but sags to the floor from his injury and blood loss before he can reach the elevator. A weakened Neff tells Keyes that the reason why he could not figure the case out was that the guy whom he was looking for was "too close, right across the desk from you." When Keyes replies "closer than that, Walter," Neff declares that he loves Keyes, too. As Neff had done, lighting Keyes' cigars for him throughout the film, Keyes lights Neff's cigarette as they await the police and an ambulance.
Produzione
James M. Cain's novel Double Indemnity was serialized in Liberty magazine. Although Joseph Sistrom is listed as producer in various contemporary sources, the SAB at the AMPAS Library recorded that no producer was to be listed. Contemporary reviews suggested that author James M. Cain was inspired to write this story after the 1927 murder of Albert Snyder, who was murdered by his wife, Ruth Brown, a flapper, and her boyfriend, Henry Judd Gray, a married corset salesman. Mrs. Snyder took out a $100,000 life insurance policy on her husband in 1926, and after several failed attempts at killing him herself, she enlisted the assistance of Gray. A jury found Mrs. Snyder and Gray guilty of murder, and they were executed for their crimes in 1928 at Sing Sing Prison. Information in the MPAA/PCA Files at the AMPAS Library reveals the following about the production: Although it was not published until 1943, Cain's novel was first submitted to the PCA as a basis for a film production in 1935 by L. B. Mayer. In Oct 1935, PCA director Joseph I. Breen responded that "the story is in violation of the provisions of the Production Code" and was "almost certain to result in a picture which we would be compelled to reject." Among the story violations he cited were that "the leading characters are murderers who cheat the law and die at their own hands; the story deals improperly with an illicit and adulterous sex relationship; [and] the details of the vicious and cold-blooded murder are clearly shown." A copy of this letter was subsequently sent to Jack L. Warner at Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures Corp. in 1935, and Paramount in Mar 1943. In Sep 1943, Breen wrote to Paramount that he had "read the part script, part outline treatment" and that it appeared to be acceptable. Among other things, Breen noted that in the opening sequences, the "bath towel must properly cover Phyllis, and should certainly go below her knees. There must be no unacceptable exposure," and that the "whole sequence of the detailed disposition of the corpse is unacceptable...as a too detailed exposition of crime...We strongly urge, therefore, that you fade out after they take the body from the car...." Scripts in the Paramount Script Collection at the AMPAS Library show that in Sep 1943, director Billy Wilder was considering using either the ending that is now seen in the final released print, or an ending in which "Walter Neff" is arrested and executed in a gas chamber. In a Dec 1943 letter to Paramount, Breen noted the following: "We have read the balance of the script...As we advised you before, this whole sequence in the death chamber seems very questionable in its present form. Specifically, the details of the execution...seem unduly gruesome from the standpoint of the Code, and also will certainly be deleted by censor boards...." Although the execution sequence was shot, it was cut after previews. According to modern sources, Billy Wilder chose to cut the execution scene over Raymond Chandler's protests as it did not conform with his vision of the film. The CBCS lists the following seven actors who appeared in the execution scene: Alan Bridge ( Execution chamber guard ), Edward Hearn ( Warden's secretary ), George Anderson ( Warden ), Boyd Irwin ( 1st doctor ), Lee Shumway ( Door guard ), George Melford ( 2d doctor ), William O'Leary ( Chaplain ). According to HR news items, Brian Donlevy was considered for the cast, and Susan Hayward and Mona Freeman were initially cast as "Lola." This film marked Byron Barr's feature film debut. (Barr should not be confused with actor Gig Young, who performed under his given name, Byron Barr, until 1942.) According to information in the Paramount Collection, this film was shot at the following locations in Los Angeles: 1825 North Kingsley Dr. for the exterior of "Walter Neff's" apartment; La Golondrina Café on Olvera Street; the basement garage of the El Royale apartment building on Rossmore Avenue; Jerry's Market at 5330 Melrose Ave., the intersections of Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue, and Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue. A Sep 1943 HR news item noted that some night scenes were shot on ___location in Phoenix, AZ due to dim-out regulations in Los Angeles. The film received the following Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography (black & white), Best Sound Recording and Best Music (scoring of a dramatic picture). Modern sources add the following about the production: Billy Wilder's longtime writing partner Charles Brackett refused to work on the screenplay for Double Indemnity due to the story's amoral content. Raymond Chandler was selected because his writing style had similarities to James M. Cain's writing. Wilder and Chandler's six-month partnership while working on the screenplay was turbulent. A Cain biography questions the extent of Wilder's contribution to the screenplay, and in a 1950 letter, Chandler acknowledged that "working with Billy Wilder...was an agonizing experience and has probably shortened my life, but I learned from it about as much about screen writing as I am capable of learning, which is not very much." A biography on Wilder quoted his response to Chandler's statement, in which he noted that "[Chandler] gave me more aggravation than any writer I ever worked with." Wilder also had difficulty getting an actor to play "Neff," as even Alan Ladd and George Raft, who regularly portrayed criminals, found the role too unsavory. Fred MacMurray initially resisted Wilder's attempts at casting him as "Neff," as his previous roles focused on romantic and comedic characters. MacMurray stated in later interviews that Wilder personally convinced him to play "Neff," just as he convinced him to play the adulterous cad "Sheldrake" in Wilder's 1960 film The Apartment. Stanwyck and MacMurray reprised their roles in the Lux Radio Theatre broadcast of Double Indemnity on 30 Oct 1950. Other films based on the same source are a 1954 NBC teleplay of the same title, and ABC-TV's 1973's made-for-television film. Although not based on the same source, the 1981 film Body Heat , directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring Kathleen Turner and William Hurt, loosely resembles the storyline of Double Indemnity . A parody of Double Indemnity titled Big Trouble was released in 1985, and was directed by John Cassavetes and starred Peter Falk. Double Indemnity was ranked 29th on AFI's 2007 100 Years…100 Movies--10th Anniversary Edition list of the greatest American films, moving up from the 38th position it held on AFI's 1997 list.(catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/2201)
Nel film compaiono non accreditati Raymond Chandler (Man Reading Book Outside Keyes' Office), Edmund Cobb (Train Conductor), Teala Loring (Pacific All-Risk Telephone Operator), Sam McDaniel (Charlie - Garage Attendant).(imdb.cast)
Filming Locations:(imdb.filming)
- Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Glendale, California (Forest Lawn Memorial Park - 1712 S Glendale Avenue)
- Los Angeles (La Golondrina Cafe, Olvera Street, Downtown - Venice Canals, Venice - Bryson Apartments, 2701 Wilshire Blvd. [apartment Building])
- Hollywood (1825 N. Kingsley Drive [building where Fred MacMurray's character lives] - Producers Studios - 5330 Melrose Avenue)
- Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California (6301 Quebec Drive [Dietrichson house])
- Palos Verdes Peninsula, California
- Burbank, California (Burbank Southern Pacific Station [Glendale Station])
If you look at any lists of best film noirs you are likely to find that many people place Double Indemnity (1944) at the top. It's easy to see why. Billy Wilder's classic is dark, steamy and thrilling from beginning to end. Fred MacMurray, cast against type, gives a perfect performance as the insurance salesman who turns into a scheming killer. And not to be outdone, Barbara Stanwyck is one of the most seductive femme fatales to appear on screen. For me, an added point of interest is that so many of the scenes were shot on ___location around Los Angeles. Here are some of those dark and gritty locations as seen in the film and how they appear today. In the opening scene we see MacMurray racing through downtown Los Angeles on the way to his office building. In the first shot MacMurray drives down Fifth Street, passing the Biltmore Hotel and then crossing Olive Street. In the comparison below, you will notice that the Biltmore Hotel is still standing on the left side of the image. On the right side of the image all of the buildings have been replaced by modern glass buildings. In the next shot we see MacMurray's car whiz down Olive Street coming towards Fifth Street. One of the buildings we see is the Philharmonic Auditorium built in 1906. In 1938 the facade of the building was remodeled and given a more streamlined look. The building has since been demolished. Getting to the Dietrichson house can be a little tricky. To get to this home located near the top of the Hollywood Hills you must drive up a series of very narrow and winding streets. Some are one way only because the streets are so narrow. Once you get to the top you will have a beautiful view. Below is a screenshot of the view from the Hollywood Hills and a picture of the view today. Above is a screenshot of the Newman Drug Store. The building is still standing but the Newman Drug Store is long gone. When I rewatched this film I recognized the drug store from the book, The Story of Hollywood, which shows many Hollywood buildings as they used to be, as well as many buildings that no longer exist. This building is located at the Southwest corner of Hollywood Blvd and Western Avenue. One of the main points of action in the film takes place at the Glendale Station located at 400 W. Cerritos Ave, Glendale, CA. Below is the shot of the station in the film and how it appears today. It's here where MacMurray's and Stanwyck's characters dump the body of Mr. Dietrichson. August 7, 2013 - CORRECTION! - The Train Station is NOT the Glendale Station but the Burbank Station (now demolished). During the movie, Lola Dietrichson (Jean Heather) and MacMurray visit the famous Hollywood Bowl located at 2301 North Highland Avenue. Like in so many other movies, Heather and MacMurray don't go through the entrance, but instead climb up the back hill and watch from the top.(dearoldhollywood.blogspot.com/2009/05/double-indemnity-film-locations.html)
Production Dates: 27 September 1943 - 24 November 1943.(imdb.filming)
The scene where Neff and Dietrichson can't get their car started after the murder was added by Billy Wilder after his car wouldn't start at the end of a shooting day.(imdb.trivia)
Author James M. Cain later admitted that if he had come up with some of the solutions to the plot that screenwriters Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler did, he would have employed them in his original novel.(imdb.trivia)
On viewing the film's rushes, production head Buddy G. DeSylva remarked of Barbara Stanwyck's blonde wig, "We hired Barbara Stanwyck, and here we get George Washington".(imdb.trivia)
This film came out in 1944, the same year David O. Selznick released Da quando te ne andasti (1944). Part of the campaign for the latter film were major ads that declared, "'Since You Went Away' are the four most important words in movies since 'Gone With the Wind'!" which Selznick had also produced. Billy Wilder hated the ads and decided to counter by personally buying his own trade paper ads which read, "'Double Indemnity' are the two most important words in movies since 'Broken Blossoms'!" referring to the 1919 D.W. Griffith classic. Selznick was not amused and even considered legal action against Wilder. Alfred Hitchcock (who had his own rocky relationship with Selznick) took out his own ads which read, "The two most important words in movies today are 'Billy Wilder'!"(imdb.trivia)
Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler did not get along whilst writing the script, a process that was apparently filled with arguments. Wilder claimed that he flaunted his womanizing ability at the time just to torment the sexually-repressed Chandler.(imdb.trivia)
Barbara Stanwyck was the first choice to play Phyllis, but she was unnerved when seeing the role was of a ruthless killer. When she expressed her concern to Billy Wilder, he asked her, "Are you a mouse or an actress?"(imdb.trivia)
The blonde wig that Barbara Stanwyck is wearing throughout the movie was the idea of Billy Wilder. A month into shooting Wilder suddenly realized how bad it looked, but by then it was too late to re-shoot the earlier scenes. To rationalize this mistake, in later interviews Wilder claimed that the bad-looking wig was intentional.(imdb.trivia)
Edward G. Robinson's initial reluctance to sign on largely stemmed from the fact he wasn't keen on being demoted to third lead. Eventually, he realized that he was at a transitional phase of his career, plus the fact that he was getting paid the same as Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray for doing less work.(imdb.trivia)
Raymond Chandler hated the experience of writing the script with Billy Wilder so much that he actually walked out and would not return unless a list of demands was met. The studio acceded to his demands and he returned to finish the script with Wilder, even though the two detested each other.(imdb.trivia)
One day during production Raymond Chandler failed to show up at work and was tracked down at his home; he went through a litany of reasons why he could no longer work with director Billy Wilder. 'Mr. Wilder frequently interrupts our work to take phone calls from women" . . . " Mr. Wilder ordered me to open up the window. He did not say please" . . . "He sticks his baton in my eyes" . . . "I can't work with a man who wears a hat in the office. I feel he is about to leave momentarily". Unless Wilder apologized, Chandler threatened to resign. Wilder surprised himself by apologizing. "It was the first--and probably only--time on record in which a producer and director ate humble pie, in which the screenwriter humiliated the big shots."(imdb.trivia)
When approached about adapting the novel to the screen, Raymond Chandler told Billy Wilder that he had to get at least $150 a week in salary and was surprised when Joseph Sistrom told the writer that they had planned to give him $750 a week.(imdb.trivia)
Due to strict wartime food rationing, policemen were stationed in the store where a scene with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck was filmed, to make sure nobody on the film crew was tempted to take away any of the food. Paramount released publicity stills showing four policemen in the store with MacMurray and Stanwyck.(imdb.trivia)
James M. Cain based his novella on a 1927 murder perpetrated by a married Queens, New York woman and her lover whose trial he attended whilst working as a journalist in New York. In that crime, Ruth Snyder persuaded her boyfriend, Judd Gray, to kill her husband Albert after having him take out a big insurance policy - with a double-indemnity clause. The murderers were quickly identified, arrested and convicted. The front page photo of Snyder's execution in the electric chair at Sing Sing has been called the most famous news photo of the 1920s.(imdb.trivia)
When "Double Indemnity" was first published in 1935, offers of up to $25,000 were tendered, but nothing came of it at the time because the Hays Office considered the novel unsuitable for filming. James M. Cain was ultimately offered $15,000 by Paramount. He was to get half on signing and the other half if the script was approved by the Hays Office.(imdb.trivia)
The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, but lost out to La mia via (1944). Billy Wilder was so seriously annoyed at Leo McCarey's sweep that when McCarey's name was called for Best Director, Wilder stuck his foot out into the aisle, tripping McCarey up. Wilder would get his revenge the following year when Giorni perduti (1945) won four Oscars, while McCarey's Le campane di Santa Maria (1945) only picked up one.(imdb.trivia)
The character Walter Neff was originally named Walter Ness, but director/writer Billy Wilder found out that there was a man living in Beverly Hills named Walter Ness who was actually an insurance salesman. To avoid being sued for defamation of character, they changed the name. In the novel, his name is Walter Huff, and Dietrichson is Nirdlinger.(imdb.trivia)
The victim, Mr. Dietrichson, is an oil company executive. Screenplay writer Raymond Chandler was an oil company executive before he became a writer.(imdb.trivia)
Initially, Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler had intended to retain as much of the book's original dialogue as possible. It was Chandler who first realized that the dialogue from the novella would not translate well to the screen. Wilder disagreed and was annoyed that Chandler was not putting more of it into the script. To settle it, Wilder hired a couple of contract players from the studio to read passages of Cain's original dialogue aloud. To Wilder's astonishment, Chandler was right and, in the end, the movie's cynical and provocative dialogue was more Chandler and Wilder than it was Cain.(imdb.trivia)
Fred MacMurray's reputation at the time was for playing nice guys, so he didn't feel he was up to the challenge. Dogged persistence on Billy Wilder's part eventually wore him down.(imdb.trivia)
Billy Wilder had a tough time getting a leading man for this film; many actors including George Raft turned the project down. He had to persuade Fred MacMurray to accept the part.(imdb.trivia)
The script was co-written by Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder. Wilder didn't get on with the famous novelist, whose constant drinking irritated him.(imdb.trivia)
Various studios expressed interest in the story when it first appeared in serial form in 1935, but realized it was unfilmable within the strictures of the newly-established Production Code.(imdb.trivia)
Alan Ladd, George Raft, Brian Donlevy, James Cagney, Spencer Tracy, Gregory Peck, and Fredric March were all up for the leading role of Walter Neff but evidently all passed on the role.(imdb.trivia)
In the early 1970's, Paramount had plans to remake La fiamma del peccato (1944) with Robert Redford in the Fred MacMurray role. The project never got off the ground.(imdb.trivia)
Billy Wilder's usual collaborator Charles Brackett didn't want to work on the screenplay, as he was uncomfortable with the material.(imdb.trivia)
Dick Powell wanted the role of Walter Neff, but he was under contract to another studio and they wouldn't allow it. He was enraged and tore up his contract. The role went to Fred MacMurray.(imdb.trivia)
For Neff's office at Pacific All Risk, Billy Wilder and set designer Hal Pereira conspired to create a little in-house joke, typical of Wilder. In the opening scenes, as Walter Neff stumbles off the elevator on his way to his office to record his confession, the vast two-tiered office is empty and dark. With the camera following him, Neff lurches towards the balcony railing overlooking rows and rows of uniform corporate desks. Neff turns left, but the camera continues forward until it reaches the brink and stares down for an anxious moment into a colorless American business purgatory. Here, Pereira is said to have copied an existing office: the corporate headquarters of Paramount Pictures in New York City.(imdb.trivia)
In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #29 Greatest Movie of All Time.(imdb.trivia)
Billy Wilder's first thriller.(imdb.trivia)
Susan Hayward and Mona Freeman were initially cast as Lola.(imdb.trivia)
Raymond Chandler did a lot of fieldwork whilst working on the script and took large volumes of notes. By visiting various locations that figured into the film, he was able to bring a sense of realism about Los Angeles that seeped into the script. For example, he hung around Jerry's Market on Melrose Avenue in preparation for the scene where Phyllis and Walter would discreetly meet to plan the murder.(imdb.trivia)
The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.(imdb.trivia)
Raymond Chandler was kept on a writer's retainer during the film's eight-week shooting period. This was a highly unusual occurrence for any writer at any studio at the time, signifying the high regard that Chandler was held in by Paramount and Billy Wilder.(imdb.trivia)
"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on October 30, 1950 with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray reprising their film roles.(imdb.trivia)
According to an April 1975 career article on Brian Donlevy in "Films in Review," the actor turned down the lead role because it was "too shady."(imdb.trivia)
"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on February 16, 1950 with Barbara Stanwyck again reprising her film role.(imdb.trivia)
One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929-49, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. Its earliest documented telecast took place in Omaha 7 March 1959 on KETV (Channel 7).(imdb.trivia)
It was first released on DVD 28 January 1998, again 28 August 2012 as part of the Universal Vault Series, again 10 November 2014 as part of Universal's Film Noir Movie Spotlight Collection, and again in Blu-Ray 26 May 2015.(imdb.trivia)
"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 5, 1945 with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck reprising their film roles.(imdb.trivia)
Francis and Claire Underwood watch this movie as they await election results in season 5 of House of Cards.(imdb.trivia)
The notable Broadway actor Tom Powers was invited to Hollywood for the role of Mr. Dietrichson. It was Powers' first film role since 1917 and his start to a "second film career" with many supporting roles until his death in 1955.(imdb.trivia)
Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the Top 100 Greatest American Movies.(imdb.trivia)
About 16 minutes into this movie, Chandler is sitting outside an office as Fred MacMurray walks past. Chandler glances up at MacMurray from a paperback he is reading, a great clue of his identity.(imdb.trivia)
A different ending was shot, with Neff being caught by the police and executed, whilst Keyes looks on in despair. Billy Wilder decided it would be poignant and fitting for both characters if, instead, Neff were to die in his office, with Keyes by his side as he expressed his regret.(imdb.trivia)
Director Billy Wilder originally filmed an ending where Keyes watches Walter Neff go to the gas chamber. It was seen only by preview audiences and was cut before the general release. The scenes contained the following actors (with their character names): George Anderson (Warden), Al Bridge (Execution Chamber Guard), Edward Hearn (Warden's Secretary), Boyd Irwin (First Doctor), George Melford (Second Doctor), William O'Leary (Chaplain) and Lee Shumway (Door Guard).(imdb.trivia)
The part of Walter Neff was originally offered to George Raft. He insisted that he would only take on the role if his character turned out to be an FBI agent at the end, entrapping Barbara Stanwyck's character. As this ran completely counter to James M. Cain's original novel, he naturally didn't get the part.(imdb.trivia)
Distribuzione
Date di uscita
- Stati Uniti (Double Indemnity) – 3 luglio 1944 (Baltimore, Maryland)
- Stati Uniti – 6 luglio 1944
- Canada (Double Indemnity) – 3 settembre 1944
- Regno Unito (Double Indemnity) – 15 settembre 1944
- Svezia (Kvinna utan samvete) – 27 novembre 1944
- Australia (Double Indemnity) – 7 dicembre 1944
- Argentina (Pacto de sangre) – 28 dicembre 1944
- Messico (Pacto de sangre) – 16 febbraio 1945
- Portogallo (Pagos a Dobrar) – 24 agosto 1945
- Finlandia (Nainen ilman omaatuntoa) – 26 ottobre 1945
- Francia (Assurance sur la mort) – 31 luglio 1946
- Italia (La fiamma del peccato) – 12 ottobre 1946
- Spagna (Perdición) – 6 marzo 1947
- Danimarca (Kvinden uden samvittighed) – 5 aprile 1948
- Hong Kong – 24 febbraio 1949
- Germania Ovest (Frau ohne Gewissen) – 6 giugno 1950
- Austria (Frau ohne Gewissen) – 28 marzo 1952
- Giappone (Shinya no kokuhaku) – 12 dicembre 1953
- Francia – 30 aprile 2003 (re-release)
- Regno Unito – 11 novembre 2005 (re-release)
- Stati Uniti – 1 agosto 2014 (New York, re-release)
- Francia – 31 gennaio 2018 (re-release restored version)
Accoglienza
Incassi
Critica
Riconoscimenti
Candidatura per il miglior film alla Paramount Pictures
Candidatura per la miglior regia a Billy Wilder
Candidatura per la migliore attrice protagonista a Barbara Stanwyck
Candidatura per la miglior sceneggiatura a Raymond Chandler e Billy Wilder
Candidatura per la miglior fotografia (bianco e nero) a John Seitz
Candidatura per la migliore colonna sonora (film drammatico o commedia) a Miklós Rózsa
Candidatura per il miglior sonoro a Loren L. Ryder
Candidatura per il miglior regista a Billy Wilder
Candidatura per la migliore attrice a Barbara Stanwyck
Ne 20017 è entrato nella Film Hall of Fame della Online Film & Television Association
Colonna sonora
Note
Bibliografia
Voci correlate
Altri progetti
{{interprogetto
Collegamenti esterni
- {{Collegamenti esterni
[[Categoria:Film noir [[Categoria:Film thriller [[Categoria:Film basati su opere di narrativa [[Categoria:Film diretti da Billy Wilder [[Categoria:Film conservati nel National Film Registry [[Categoria:Film sulla pena di morte [[Categoria:Film ambientati negli anni 1930 [[Categoria:Film ambientati a Los Angeles [[Categoria:Film Paramount Pictures