I went to see Double Indemnity yesterday on the big screen, my second trip to the Big Screen Classics series presented at the Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, N.Y. - www.bigscreenclassics.com
My wife and I went there with out friend Sal to see one of my favorite film noirs of all time, the all time great Double Indemnity. Just listen to the names involved here. Fred McMurray, an actor that isn't typical of the male lead in film noirs. (I always think of old reruns of My Three Sons that I watched when I was a kid). Edward G. Robinson, an enormous amount of talent packed into that little dude, who has delivered in everything from Little Caesar to Brother Orchid, and the always tremendous Barbara Stanwyck. She's today's sexy lady (since hot chick would be a label of great disservice to the classy Miss Stanwyck.) - She is a rare woman, who shouldn't be as damned sexy as she is, but her roles and her great acting elevate her to another level. She's been in a bazillion roles, with some of my favorites being her film noir roles. (Sorry, Wrong Number, Double Indemnity, and The Strange Love of Martha Ivers at the top of the list.)
Lest you think only the acting is top notch, let's not forget the incomparable Billy Wilder directing a script he cowrote with Raymond Chandler! Now that's one hell of a package, and it doesn't disappoint.
I'm not going to recap the plot, since it's pretty by the numbers; guy falls head over heels for sexy femme fatale, gets sucked into some bad dealings because he follows the advice of the little head over the big one, and all parties suffer. God I love Noir!!!!
The only negative part of the entire experience was the Yahoo behind me who seemed to believe that his practice of speaking aloud lines of dialogue to his wife immediately prior to the line being spoken would enhance the experience for me. (God I hate people!!!!) - It was hopeless, because after turning around multiple times, my wife turning around, head shaking, and sighing on our part, he continued. This was obviously a willful act of douchebaggery on his part, and hopefully the great whell of Ka will eventually turn and exact righteous retribution on the asshole.
If you've never seen this flick, you owe it to yourself to check it out. It holds up very well, even though the film is over 60 yrs old. The dialogue is snappy and filled with double entendres, the chemistry between the leads is astonishing, and even though I've seen it 4 or 5 times now I never tire of it.
Beast
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