Entry 4 Zero Draft Questions

4. Discuss the appropriateness of the actors Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck for their roles as Walter Neff and Phyllis Dietrichson. How do these actors compare with the images you formed of these characters while reading the novel? Do these actors exemplify qualities that are consistent with descriptions of the protagonist and femme fatale in film noir?

 Let me start with Phyllis. In the book I pictured her as an evil heartless person with no emotion who loved death. It seemed to me she killed her husband for no reason other than the money. He seemed to be a nice hard working man. In the movie though he was kind of a jerk to Phyllis giving her reason to want to kill him. In the book she actually carried her husbands dead body which made her seem more tough and in the movie she didn't. At the end of the movie she kind of shows some love towards Walter after she shoots him. In the book I took the ending as, well lets just meet with death our self. So in the book she seemed more evil and tough and in the movie just a little more sweeter. As far as what I pictured her image wise I imagined her the same as she looked in the movie.
 I like how Walter was tougher in the movie compared to in the book. He was dangerous and a little more heartless in the movie. Instead of chasing around Phyllis like in the book he had more balls, he knew he had to kill her and he did so. Both of these actors exemplify qualities that are consistent with the descriptions of the protagonist and femme fatale in film noir.

1. Discuss the contrasts between the endings of the novel and the film. Which ending seems more appropriate for film noir? Why?

Like we discussed in class the ending to the book leaves it up to your imagination on what really happens to Walter and Phyllis. In the movie its straight to the point!
I like the ending in the book but I think the ending in the movie is more appropriate because it gives you a real ending on what happened instead of wondering and waiting for part 2 to come out.

BLOG ENTRY 3

I'm going to go with question 1 regarding who in the novel assumes the role of the detective figure and what qualities does he possess that make him suitable for the role of the hard-boiled detective?
     In this story Walter Huff is your detective type character but as you get more into the story you realize that Keyes assumes the role of the detective.  Walter Huff initially is lawful and is trying to find clients who are trying to commit fraud. On the other hand when he meets Phyllis Nirdlinger he learns that she is the perfect person to help him commit a crime that he has only dreamed about. After the 2 commit the murder in order to get the insurance money Keyes plays a big role in being the detective. He knows that something isn't right and is digging to try and find out what is really going on. When Phyllis first files the claim Keyes denies it on grounds that an accident hasn't been proved. He wanted her to be investigated and interrogated. He knew that it couldn't be an accident and there wasn't something fishy going on. He kept on with his investigation until Walter Huff breaks down and confesses the murder.
     I also think that Lola played a little role in the detective character when she would follow Sachetti and after the murder she was keeping tabs on Phyllis. She found out that Phyllis was shopping for a black dress a week before her fathers murder.When Walter Huff was shot she had been following him thinking it was her boyfriend. Sachetti also played a small role in playing detective he was trying to figure out who Phyllis really was and knew she was no good after the children died and Lola's mother had died.
     So in Double Indemnity I think each character played detective to different situations.

Double Indemnity-Film Noir Blog 2

      There are many aspects of film noir in the book Double Indemnity. Film noir as you know always has that detective type character that's on the fine line between lawful and unlawful.Then you have the "femme fatale" character who is the seductive, mysterious woman who charms her way into her lovers heart and then leads him into deadly and dangerous situations. Not only does the book Double Indemnity have those characters but it also has murder, mystery, deceit, fraud and twist to spice it up.

     In the first half of the book James M. Cain introduces Walter Huff  who is an experienced insurance agent and very good at his job. While trying to sell insurance to Mr. Nirdlinger he ends up coming in contact with the beautiful blonde Mrs.Phyllis Nirdlinger. She would soon prove to be the femme fatale character and lead him in to murder with her beauty and charm. According to Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton “The private detective is midway between lawful society and the underworld, walking on the brink, sometimes unscrupulous, but only putting himself at risk, fulfilling the requirements of his own code and of the figure as well. As if to counterbalance all this, the actual lawbreakers are more or less sympathetic figures.”

That quote describes the Walter Huff in this book all too well. Walter Huff not a private detective but was that law abiding citizen who could almost always tell when there was a suspicious client and would bring them down. On the other hand when Phyllis Nirdlinger pretty much seduced him and convinced him into killing her husband he couldn’t resist her. He was all for it!  From years of experience he knew all too well how to plan the murder without raising any suspicions or getting caught. After they both went thru with the murder Walter Huff went about his life trying to act as normal as possible. His boss was suspicious about it and knew there was something not right. It all made Walter Huff a bit sick. So he was playing the lawful and unlawful side at this point. He was put himself at risk by first committing a murder and secondly possibly not ends well at all.

     From the website Filmsite it states that “ the females in film noir are either of two types- dutiful, reliable, trustworthy and loving women; or femme fatales- mysterious, duplicitous, double-crossing, gorgeous, unloving, predatory, tough-sweet, unreliable, irresponsible, manipulative and desperate women.” In Cain’s book Double Indemnity Phyllis Nirdlinger would be described as the femme fatale character. She is a beautiful blonde with light blue eyes who seduces Mr. Huff into killing her husband for the life insurance money. She is sweet, tough and knows what she wants and knows how to get it. During the murder she seems unaffected by it. She shows no emotion or sadness of her husband being dead. She goes on about her life as if it’s just another day.

     In conclusion the book Double Indemnity has many aspects of film noir in it. From the insurance agent, to the femme fatale and all the lies, deceit, fraud and murder it has to follow. This book is a clasic example of film noir and its characteristics.