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Beschreibung

Richard Schickel's study of Billy Wilder's 1944 noir classic Double Indemnity traces in fascinating detail the genesis and realisation of the film: its literary origins in James M. Cain's hard-boiled crime novel, the difficult relations between Wilder and his scriptwriter Raymond Chandler, the casting of a reluctant Fred MacMurray, and the late decision to cut the expensively filmed execution sequence from the final release.

Schickel places Double Indemnity in the context of early 1940s Hollywood and the emergence of a new kind of crime thriller that later became known as film noir. The film was a cornerstone of the genre: its script creates two unforgettable criminal characters, the cynically manipulative femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) and the likeable but amoral Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray). Billy Wilder's direction enmeshes them in dramatic chiaroscuro, as bright California sunlight casts Venetian-blind shadows across dusty rooms and harsh lamplight slices through the night.

In his afterword to this new edition, James Naremore pays tribute to Schickel's analysis of Double Indemnity and its contexts, and considers debates surrounding the film's conclusion.

Richard Schickel's study of Billy Wilder's 1944 noir classic Double Indemnity traces in fascinating detail the genesis and realisation of the film: its literary origins in James M. Cain's hard-boiled crime novel, the difficult relations between Wilder and his scriptwriter Raymond Chandler, the casting of a reluctant Fred MacMurray, and the late decision to cut the expensively filmed execution sequence from the final release.

Schickel places Double Indemnity in the context of early 1940s Hollywood and the emergence of a new kind of crime thriller that later became known as film noir. The film was a cornerstone of the genre: its script creates two unforgettable criminal characters, the cynically manipulative femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) and the likeable but amoral Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray). Billy Wilder's direction enmeshes them in dramatic chiaroscuro, as bright California sunlight casts Venetian-blind shadows across dusty rooms and harsh lamplight slices through the night.

In his afterword to this new edition, James Naremore pays tribute to Schickel's analysis of Double Indemnity and its contexts, and considers debates surrounding the film's conclusion.

Über den Autor

Richard Schickel (1933 - 2017) was an American film historian, journalist, author, documentarian, and film and literary critic. He was a film critic for Time from 1965-2010, and also wrote for Life and the Los Angeles Times Book Review.

James Naremore is Chancellors' Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, USA. Among his books are The Magic World of Orson Welles (2015), Acting in the Cinema (1988), More Than Night: Film Noir in its Contexts (2008), On Kubrick (British Film Institute, Revised Edition, 2023) and Sweet Smell of Success (2010) and Letter from an Unknown Woman (2021) in the BFI Film Classics series.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements
Double Indemnity
Afterword to the 2026 Edition
Notes
Credits

Details
Erscheinungsjahr: 2026
Genre: Importe, Kunst
Rubrik: Kunst & Musik
Thema: Theater & Film
Medium: Taschenbuch
Reihe: BFI Film Classics
ISBN-13: 9781805750215
ISBN-10: 1805750216
Sprache: Englisch
Einband: Kartoniert / Broschiert
Autor: Schickel, Richard
Auflage: 2. Auflage
Hersteller: Bloomsbury Academic
British Film Institute
Verantwortliche Person für die EU: Libri GmbH, Europaallee 1, D-36244 Bad Hersfeld, gpsr@libri.de
Abbildungen: 60 bw illus
Maße: 188 x 132 x 8 mm
Von/Mit: Richard Schickel
Erscheinungsdatum: 19.02.2026
Gewicht: 0,134 kg
Artikel-ID: 134575138