Blog Entry Three: Double Indemnity

Though the story is very fast paced, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I felt the beginning of the book was too unrealistic in that Mr. Huff fell in love with Phyllis so quickly and was so easily persuaded to murder a man.  The first half of the novel did not really catch my attention.  However, the second half was so very intriguing; I could not put the book down!  I was on pins and needles waiting to find out the twists and turns of what would happen next.

 I feel the ending of the novel was satisfying and appropriate.  As soon as Mr. Huff turned and saw Phyllis there, I started laughing.  The almost satirical, revengeful nature of Keyes!  He never let's anyone pull a fast one on him.  When he learns of what Huff has done, he offers him a proposition.  Huff takes it thinking he is basically getting a "get out of jail free" card.  Little does he know, he will wind up on ship with the one person who wants him dead.  It was a very ironic thing to do.  I liked the way the novel ended because now they really have a choice: they live with the guilt and shame, day in and day out of what they have done; allowing the agony of guilt eat away at them (Mr. Huff at least; Phyllis doesn't really seem to have a conscience); they live in constant fear one another will try to kill them; or they do themselves in.  It is a lose, lose, lose scenarios any way you slice it.

I think perhaps the screenwriters Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder changed Cin’s ending for a few reasons. I feel they didn't want to portray to the audience that murder is something you can get away with scot free.  I also think, that they wanted to leave an heir of suspense in the end of what happened to Phyllis?  I admit, I watched the rest of the movie on Netflix, and I felt that ending was unsatisfying!  You can sort of guess what happens, Mr. Huff goes to trial and is found guilty, but it really is not a conclusion to the story.  They should have kept the ending of the film aligned with the novel.  The ending in the novel is at least interesting, whereas I found the ending in the film dull.  I really did not care for it at all.  I much preferred the ending in the novel over the ending in the film.

Entry 2: Double Indemnity

The novel Double Indemnity by James M. Cain, definitely fits the genre of film noir.  Almost all characteristics we covered in describing film noir in class, show up in the first eight chapters of the book.  From the main character Walter as the noir protagonist, the rural Los Angeles setting, to the hat emphasized in the murder scene.

Although I found the story extreme and unrealistic, in that the two, Walter and Phyllis, met once and the next time they were kissing and planning a murder, I see how it is a classic example of film noir. "I knew then what I had done.  I had killed a man.  I had killed  man to get a woman.  I had put myself in her power..." (Cain pg. 54)  This quote, to me, really is the identity of film noir.  A man struggling with his morals of what is right and what is wrong vs. what he wants over what he can not have.  Of course, other identifiers come into play in pinpointing this novel as film noir, though I feel that this line solely can classify Double Indemnity as such.

Walter Huff falls in love with Phyllis Nirdlinger, who is married to a man she wants dead.  Mrs. Nirdlinger plays the role of the femme fatale in this story. She is manipulative and desperate as she lures Mr. Huff in, and almost at once has him plotting and scheming to kill Mr. Nirdlinger for love and for love of money.  Though Mr. Huff seems to be a good guy, he is tired of being the good guy, and wants his slice of the pie.  He is really and truly the mastermind behind the whole thing.  He knows the ins and outs of the insurance business and just how to get them to pay.   As he puts it: "You think I'm nuts? All right, maybe I am.  But you spend fifteen years in the business I'm in, maybe you'll go nuts yourself... I know all their tricks, I lie awake at night thinking up tricks so I'll be ready for them when they come at me. And then one night I think up a trick, and get to thinking I could crook the wheel myself..." (Cain pg.24)   Mr. Huff fits perfectly in the description of the "passive hero who allows himself to be dragged across the line into the gray area between legal and criminal behavior." (Notes on film noir)

After the murder, guilt and paranoia start to sink in; Mr. Huff saying "...everything cracked.  I dived for the bathroom, I was sicker than I had ever been before.  It was a long time before I could turn out the light." (Cain pg.54) setting a primary mood of film noir.  The novel is absolutely intriguing, it is dark and seductive, and incredibly complex. Mr. Huff narrorating the story, really gives a feeling I am watching the crime take place.

What defines Film Noir

From the excerpt "A Bright and Guilty Place," I gather film noir focuses primarily on crime and passion.  Literally speaking, film noir translates to "black film," which, taking an educated guess, leads me to believe majority of these films are in black and white. Black and white films set the tone for an eery and suspenseful sort of plot, which I suspect are key ingredient in film noir.  Knowing very little thus far, when I imagine what film noir might focus on, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald comes to mind.  Though this may be off entirely, being as how this story is set shortly after World War I, roughly 1922, I can see the relevance in the characteristics of Nick Carraway being that he is honest, and often a confidant for those in trouble, and Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of the story, who is willing to do whatever it takes, even murder, to achieve his ultimate goals: wealth and love.  Nick would be the "detective" so to speak, seeking truth and rescuing Daisy Buchanan, who has Gatsby's affection, whereas Gatsby would be the shady character who is suspicious and underhanded, overtaken by his need for power, wealth, admiration, and love from Daisy.  Film noir seems to have similar characters and story lines: a leading man of integrity, a villain who is usually obsessed with greed, lust, power, or something of the like, and leading lady who is somehow conflicted between the two.  As pieces fall together and new information comes to light, the climax of the story comes to a resolve as the entwined characters unravel the mystery and tragedies to ultimately reveal the truth.