Blog #2 Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity, a novel by James M. Cain is classified as a piece associated with film noir due to the author’s style of writing, plot points, and characters. Cain places the reader in a simpler Los Angeles suburban area and tells the tale of an insurance agent named Walter Huff. A slick, fast talking gentleman who is good at making moves and getting in quick to make a living as a salesman in the city. Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton, authors of “Towards a Definition of Film Noir” describe attributes of the ambiguous protagonist such as Walter Huff,

“He is often enough masochistic, even self-immolating, one who makes his own trouble, who may throw himself into fear, neither for the sake of justice nor from avarice, but simply out of morbid curiosity.”

 Double Indemnity’s femme fatale character is introduced in a subtler manner; Borde and Chaumeton define the femme fatale character in “Towards a Definition of Film Noir,”

“Frustrated and deviant, half predator, half prey, detached yet ensnared, she falls victim to her own trap.”

 She is Phyllis Nirdlinger, the wife of Mr. Nirdlinger. Phyllis and Walter meet to discuss an issue regarding Mr. Nirdlinger’s auto policy. The woman at first is suspicious of Walter Huff and seems protective over her husband, Mr. Nirdlinger. The two characters become intimate fairly quick with each other having only a few interactions together. The dialogue between the two opens the true nature of these psychological nightmares as they meet together at late night rendezvous. Both Walter and Phyllis show slight hesitation to engage in one another, but ultimately give into their immoral intentions. 

 Lola Nirdlinger is introduced as what I am assuming from the reading to be the heroine, she seems to be a sweet, trusting, and thoughtful person to all. Walter persuades and sets up a life insurance policy for Mr. Nirdlinger in hopes of collecting a massive amount of money with Mrs. Nirdlinger. Collusion and deceit now surrounds Mr. Nirdlinger without any knowledge of their plot to end his life. The mood darkens as they menacingly conspire against her husband, looking for any opportunity to place his body on the tracks to collect the money from the life insurance policy with the double indemnity stipulation. 

Once the deed is done the mood changes to an intense paranoia and the two characters, Walter and Phyllis become frantic. Suspicions of foul play present itself to the insurance company and to law enforcement; some assume it is suicide and the chance or likeliness of this even being considered an accident is dire.