Doubly Brilliantly Executed

You may have seen Race. You may find the B&W Hollywood era a drag. You may not see the point of watching a movie that dates back to World War II, and stars Fred McMurray and Barbara Stanwyck (who???) All I have to say is, get out there and watch this movie. For this is character acting at its finest, with overtones of say Twelve Angry Men. Phyllis (Barbara) falls for insurance agent Walter Neff (Fred), and the two hatch a plot to effectively profit from a “Double Indemnity” clause in the life insurance policy of Phyllis’ husband, so kindly provided by Walter. The two work out an unlikely accident, and all is on track (literall), till Walter’s astute colleague Barton Keyes (Edward G Robinson), inch by inch, and with clinical examination of various hypotheses, finally unearths the plot. But this is not all – a lot of skeletons fall out of Phyllis’ cupboard, and in the end it is Walter and Phyllis staring at the just desserts for lives poorly led. Un-missable performances

15.5/20