Something I think about fairly often: If I was an actress (which I’m sooo not…I can’t keep a straight face for the life of me) would I want to take happy, good girl roles…or bad girl roles?
I sometimes land on “bad girl” solely because I think my dream role would be Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka…how fun would it be to get to sing that golden egg “I want it now!!” song? Plus, I’d get to throw all the fits onscreen that I’m too polite to throw in real life. Darn you, Midwestern manners.
Anyway, this question of taking on a “bad guy” role was one both Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck had to consider when they were offered parts in the 1944 film noir Double Indemnity.
Prior to this movie, MacMurray had mainly played romantic leads (and would go on to become a Disney staple in movies like The Shaggy Dog and The Absent-Minded Professor) and Stanwyck, though yes, often in strong roles, still generally batted for the good guys. But their roles in Double Indemnity had them playing co-conspirators in a murder-for-love (kinda)-and-life-insurance scheme. Thankfully, both took the professional risk and subsequently went down in Hollywood history.
Double Indemnity is a gritty crime drama chock full of really pleasant stuff like murder and infidelity, along with great dialogue and cool cinematography. And it makes for a pretty fun conversation in this week’s Classic Movie Gush with Clay Morgan (author, friend and generally the more articulate half of our movie duo) and me. Enjoy!
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Sounds like an interesting movie for sure!! I’m not a huge fan of psychologically dark movies, but if they’re well done and not just done for the sake of sensationalism, I can watch them.
And Melissa, you will be Webster City’s NEXT claim to fame!! 🙂 No longer will that one guy be the only one…
Author
Yeah, Double Indemnity may not be your kind of movie, Linz. I wouldn’t say there’s any sensationalism to this one. It’s basic film noir…and done really, really well. Actually, I was once in a class with James Scott Bell and he used Double Indemnity to teach…it was sweet. There’s really lot both plot and symbolism-wise that writers can learn from this one, that’s for sure.
And haha, thanks for the confidence in my future fame. LOL!
Hey Melissa,
Thanks for your point of view on Double Indemnity. I like older films like “The Sun Also Rises” and some with Gene Tierney.
I hear there’s a new movie in the works that will be starring Vince Vaughn, and it’s called “Term Life” – about life insurance too.
Author
Ooh, I like Gene Tierney! Especially in Laura…and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir!