DILLON ON FILM

Double Indemnity: 80 Years On

Billy Wilder’s film noir classic remains an ideal entry point for those new to the genre

Credit: Paramount

Warning: Contains spoilers

There’s some debate among film scholars over which film constituted the first film noir. Generally, cineastes point to The Maltese Falcon (1941), but how can it be? It’s a remake of a film made ten years earlier. On the other hand, the film noir style, with its moody, shadowy imagery, is often considered something of an accident; a side-effect of austere wartime budgets, where cost-cutting extended to lighting. The 1931 version of The Maltese Falcon wasn’t produced under such conditions.

It was the post-war French, hungrily devouring all those Hollywood pictures the Nazis banned during their occupation, who dubbed these thrillers “film noir”. Personally, I can’t entirely buy the idea that these films were an “accident” as they also have their visual style rooted in German Expressionism, pulp novels, and tough 1930s gangster movies. But whatever film is officially considered the “start” of film noir, I know which film I recommend to those who wish to become students of the genre: Double Indemnity.

Celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, now is a great time to reassess just what has made Billy…