Editing Double Indemnity (section)

==Production==

===Background===
James M. Cain based his novella [[Double Indemnity (novel)|''Double Indemnity'']] on a 1927 murder perpetrated by [[Ruth Snyder]], married to Albert Snyder, and her lover Henry Judd Gray,<ref name="dvd2">{{cite news | title = Shadows of Suspense | work = Double Indemnity Universal Legacy Series DVD | publisher = [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]] | year = 2006 }}</ref> who colluded with an insurance agent to obtain a $45,000 policy with a double-indemnity clause without Albert's knowledge and then have him murdered.

Cain had become a popular crime novelist following the publication of ''[[The Postman Always Rings Twice (novel)|The Postman Always Rings Twice]]'' in 1934, and ''Double Indemnity'' began making the rounds in Hollywood shortly after it was serialized in ''Liberty'' magazine in 1936. [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], [[Warner Bros.]], [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]], [[20th Century Studios|20th Century-Fox]], [[RKO Pictures|RKO Radio Pictures]], and [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]] competed over the rights to adapt ''Double Indemnity'', but the fervor ended when [[Hays Code|Hays Office]] censor [[Joseph Breen]] warned in a letter to the studios:

<blockquote>The general low tone and sordid flavor of this story makes it, in our judgment, thoroughly unacceptable for screen presentation before mixed audiences in the theater. I am sure you will agree that it is most important...to avoid what the code calls "the hardening of audiences," especially those who are young and impressionable, to the thought and fact of crime.<ref name="Lally">{{cite book | last1 = Lally | first1 = Kevin | title = Wilder Times: The Life of Billy Wilder | location = New York | publisher = [[Henry Holt and Company]] | year = 1996 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/wildertimeslifeo00lall/page/125 125–139] | isbn = 978-0-8050-3119-5 | url = https://archive.org/details/wildertimeslifeo00lall/page/125 }}</ref></blockquote>

In 1943, Cain's novella was anthologized with two others in ''[[Three of a Kind (novella collection)|Three of a Kind]]''. Paramount's Joseph Sistrom bought the rights for $15,000, envisioning Billy Wilder as the director of an adaptation.<ref name="Lally"/> Paramount resubmitted the novella to the Hays Office and got an identical response as seven years earlier; Paramount then submitted a partial screenplay to the Hays Office. It was approved with three objections about portraying the disposal of a corpse, the gas chamber execution scene, and the skimpiness of the towel worn by the female lead.<ref name="Lally"/><ref name="Phillips">{{cite book | last1 = Phillips | first1 = Gene D. |author-link=Gene D. Phillips | title = Some Like it Wilder: The Life and Controversial Films of Billy Wilder | url = https://archive.org/details/somelikeitwilder00phil | url-access = limited | location = Lexington | publisher = [[University Press of Kentucky]] | year= 2010 | isbn = 978-0-8131-2570-1}}</ref>{{rp|54}}

Cain felt Joseph Breen owed him $10,000 for vetoing the purchase of the property for $25,000 in 1936.<ref name="Hoo">{{cite book | last1 = Hoopes | first1 = Roy | title = Cain | location = New York | publisher = [[Henry Holt and Company|Holt, Rinehart and Winston]] | year = 1982 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/cainnhoop00hoop/page/347 347–348] | isbn = 978-0-03-049331-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/cainnhoop00hoop/page/347 }}</ref>

===Writing===
[[File:Double indemnity screenshot 7.jpg|left|thumb|Edward G. Robinson as Barton Keyes]]
The restrictions imposed by the Hays Code made adapting ''Double Indemnity'' a challenge. Wilder's writing partner [[Charles Brackett]] helped with the treatment before bowing out.<ref name="Dobbs, Lem 2014">Dobbs, Lem (commentary),Redman, Nick (commentary), Wilder, Billy (director). 2014. "Double Indemnity Feature Commentary". Blu-ray DVD. Universal Studios.</ref> Wilder characterized their time apart: "1944 was 'The Year of Infidelities'...Charlie produced ''[[The Uninvited (1944 film)|The Uninvited]]''...I don't think he ever forgave me. He always thought I cheated on him with Raymond Chandler."<ref name="sikmain"/>

Cain was Wilder's first choice as a replacement for Brackett; Since Cain was working at 20th Century Fox, he was never asked to work on the film.<ref name="Moffat"/><ref name="mcgmain">[[Patrick McGilligan (biographer)|McGilligan, Patrick]] (1986). ''Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age''. Los Angeles: University of California Press. {{ISBN|978-0-520-05689-3}}. p. 125–8</ref> Sistrom suggested [[Raymond Chandler]], whose 1939 novel ''[[The Big Sleep]]'' he had admired.<ref name="Dobbs, Lem 2014"/>

New to Hollywood, Chandler demanded $1,000 and at least one week to complete the screenplay, not realizing he would be paid $750 per week and that it would take fourteen.<ref name="Moffat">Moffat, Irving. "[https://archive.org/details/worldofraymondch00miri/page/45/mode/1up On the Fourth Floor of Paramount]", ''The World of Raymond Chandler''. A&W Publishers, 1977. 43–51.</ref> Wilder characterized Chandler's first draft as "useless camera instruction"; to teach Chandler screenwriting, Wilder gave him a copy of his script for ''[[Hold Back the Dawn]]''.<ref name="Lally"/> They did not get along during the next four months. Chandler quit once, submitting a long list of grievances about Wilder to Paramount. Chandler did agree to appear in the film, glancing up from a magazine as Neff walks outside Keyes' office; this is the only professional footage of him.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jun/05/raymond-chandler-double-indemnity-cameo | title = Chandler's double identity | last = Wooton | first = Adrian | date = June 5, 2009 | work = [[The Guardian]] | access-date=June 7, 2009}}</ref>

Chandler and Wilder made considerable changes to Cain's story. Because the Hays Code demanded criminals pay onscreen for their transgressions, the double suicide at the end of the novella was not permissible. The solution was to have the two protagonists mortally wound each other.<ref name="Muller">[[Eddie Muller|Muller, Eddie]] (1998). ''Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir''. New York: St. Martin's Press. {{ISBN|978-0-312-18076-8}}. 56–9.</ref> The character of Barton Keyes was changed from a fairly clueless colleague into a mentor and antagonist to Neff.<ref name="Dobbs, Lem 2014" />

Chandler felt that Cain's dialogue would not play well onscreen, but Wilder disagreed; after he hired contract players to read passages of Cain's text aloud, he conceded to Chandler. Chandler also scouted for locations including Jerry's Market on [[Melrose Avenue]], where Phyllis and Walter discreetly meet to plan and discuss the murder.<ref name="Creatures">{{cite book | last1 = Phillips | first1 = Gene D. | title = Creatures of Darkness: Raymond Chandler, Detective Fiction, and Film Noir | location = Lexington | publisher = [[University Press of Kentucky]] | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-0-8131-2174-1 | url = https://archive.org/details/creaturesofdarkn00phil/page/170 }}</ref>

Chandler was a recovering alcoholic. Wilder said that "He was in [[Alcoholics Anonymous]]...I drove him back into drinking."<ref name="Lally" />{{rp|129}} An embittered Chandler wrote in ''[[The Atlantic|The Atlantic Monthly]]'' in November 1945 that "The first picture I worked on was nominated for an Academy Award...but I was not even invited to the press review held right in the studio."<ref name="Creatures" />{{rp|181}} Wilder responded, "How could we? He was under the table drunk..." Wilder's experience with Chandler drew him to adapt [[Charles R. Jackson]]'s novel [[The Lost Weekend (novel)|''The Lost Weekend'']], about an alcoholic writer, as his [[The Lost Weekend|next film]]; Wilder wanted the film "to explain Chandler to himself."<ref name="dvd2" /> [[Library of America]] included the ''Double Indemnity'' screenplay in its second volume of Chandler's work, ''Later Novels and Other Writings'' (1995).

Cain was impressed with the screenplay, calling it "the only picture I ever saw made from my books that had things in it I wish I had thought of. Wilder's ending was much better than my ending, and his device for letting the guy tell the story by taking out the office dictating machine – I would have done it if I had thought of it."<ref name="mcgmain" />

===Casting===
[[File:Double indemnity screenshot 3.jpg|thumb|Wilder supposedly chose a bad wig for Stanwyck to underscore Phyllis's "sleazy phoniness".]]Sistrom and Wilder wanted Barbara Stanwyck to play Phyllis Dietrichson. She was the highest-paid woman in America.<ref name="dvd2"/> Stanwyck was reluctant to play a [[femme fatale]], fearing it would have an adverse effect on her career. She recalled being "a little afraid after all these years of playing heroines to go into an out-and-out killer." Wilder asked, "Well, are you a mouse or an actress?" She was grateful for his encouragement.<ref name="Lally"/>{{rp|134}}

[[Alan Ladd]], [[James Cagney]], [[Spencer Tracy]], [[Gregory Peck]], and [[Fredric March]] all passed on the role of Neff.<ref name="Lally"/>{{rp|134}} Wilder scraped "the bottom of the barrel" and approached [[George Raft]]. Since Raft did not read scripts, Wilder described the plot. Raft interrupted, "Let's get to the lapel bit...when the guy flashes his lapel, you see his badge, you know he's a detective." Since Neff was not a cop, Raft turned the part down.<ref name="zolmain">[[Maurice Zolotow|Zolotow, Maurice]] (1977). ''Billy Wilder in Hollywood''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. {{ISBN|978-0-399-11789-3}}.</ref>{{rp|117}} This was the last in a series of films Raft declined which turned out to be classics.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/stars-stop-stars-george-raft/|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=Why Stars Stop Being Stars: George Raft|date=February 9, 2020}}</ref> Wilder realized the part needed someone who could play a cynic and a nice guy simultaneously.<ref name="Lally"/>{{rp|134}}

Fred MacMurray was accustomed to playing "happy-go-lucky good guys" in light comedies. In 1943, he was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.<ref>Flint, Peter B. "[https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/06/arts/fred-macmurray-is-dead-at-83-versatile-film-and-television-star.html Fred MacMurray Is Dead at 83; Versatile Film and Television Star]." ''The New York Times'', November 6, 1991.</ref> When Wilder approached him about the role, MacMurray said, "You're making the mistake of your life!" He felt he lacked the skill for a serious part,<ref name="Phillips"/>{{rp|61}} but Wilder pestered the actor until he relented. MacMurray felt Paramount would never let him play a "wrong" role, because the studio carefully crafted his image. Paramount let him take the unsavory role, hoping to teach him a lesson during negotiations for his contract renewal.<ref name="sikmain"/>{{rp|202–3}} MacMurray's success in the role came as a surprise to both him and Paramount; he later recalled that he "never dreamed it would be the best picture [he] ever made."<ref name="zolmain"/>{{rp|118}}

Edward G. Robinson was reluctant to step down to third billing as Barton Keyes, reflecting that "At my age, it was time to begin thinking of character roles, to slide into middle and old age with the same grace as that marvelous actor [[Lewis Stone]]". Robinson agreed to take the role in part because he would receive the same salary as the two leads for fewer shooting days.<ref name="Lally"/>{{rp|135}}

For Jean Heather as Lola it was her credited first film role, for Byron Barr as Nino it was his first film role ever, and for Tom Powers as Mr. Dietrichson it was his first film role since 1917.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

===Filming===
[[File:Double indemnity screenshot 1.jpg|left|thumb|Neff confesses into a [[Dictaphone]].]]Filming ran from September 27 to November 24, 1943.<ref>[[Richard Schickel|Schickel, Richard]]. ''Double Indemnity'', BFI Publishing, 1992. 60.</ref> [[John F. Seitz]] was the premier director of photography at Paramount, having worked since the silent era. Seitz was nominated for an Academy Award for Wilder's ''[[Five Graves to Cairo]]'' (1943). The director praised Seitz's willingness to experiment. They gave the film a look reminiscent of [[German expressionist cinema]], with dramatic deployment of light and shadows.<ref name="Lally"/> Wilder recalled, "Sometimes the [[Dailies|rushes]] were so dark that you couldn't see anything. He went to the limits of what could be done."<ref name="sikmain"/>{{rp|206}} Bright Southern California exteriors contrasted with gloomy interiors to suggest what lurked beneath the facade.<ref name="dvd2"/> The effect was heightened by dirtying up the set with overturned ashtrays and blowing aluminum particles into the air to simulate dust.<ref name="Phillips"/>{{rp|63}}

[[File:Indemnity Bar Lighting.jpg|thumb|Use of "venetian blind" lighting became a stock-in-trade film noir look.]]Seitz used "[[Window blind|Venetian blind]]" lighting to simulate prison bars trapping the characters.<ref>{{cite book | last=Leitch | first=Thomas | year=2002 | chapter=''Double Indemnity'' and the Film Noir | title=Crime Films | series=Genres in American Cinema | publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] | pages=134 | isbn=0521646715 }}</ref> Barbara Stanwyck reflected that "the way those sets were lit, the house, Walter's apartment, those dark shadows, those slices of harsh light at strange angles – all that helped my performance. The way Billy staged it and John Seitz lit it, it was all one sensational mood."<ref name="Muller"/>

For Neff's office at Pacific All Risk, Wilder and set designer [[Hal Pereira]] copied the Paramount headquarters in New York City as an inside joke at the studio's expense.<ref name="sikmain"/>{{rp|207}}

Stanwyck wears a blonde wig "to complement her anklet...and to make her look as sleazy as possible." Paramount production head [[Buddy DeSylva]] did not approve of the wig, remarking that "We hired Barbara Stanwyck, and here we get George Washington."<ref name="Lally"/>{{rp|135}} In response, Wilder insisted that the wig was "meant to show that she's a phony character and that all of her emotions are fraudulent". A week into filming, Wilder came to consider the wig a mistake, but too much of the film had been shot to remove it; he later referred to the use of the wig as the biggest mistake of his career.<ref name="dvd2"/><ref name="Phillips"/>{{rp|62}}

[[Edith Head]] designed Barbara Stanwyck's costumes.<ref name="Colpaert">{{cite journal |last1=Colpaert |first1=Lisa |title=Costume on film: How the femme fatale's wardrobe scripted the pictorial style of 1940s film noir |journal=Studies in Costume & Performance |date=2019 |volume=4 |pages=65–84 |doi=10.1386/scp.4.1.65_1 |s2cid=187357420 |url=https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/scp.4.1.65_1 |access-date= 18 October 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{rp|77}} Her designs focus on bias-cut gowns, blouses with wide sleeves, and the waistline. Shoulder pads were the style of the 1940s, but they also accentuated the femme fatale's power. In Stanwyck's death scene, her wig and white jumpsuit contrast with Neff's dark suit, creating a [[chiaroscuro]] effect.<ref name="Colpaert"/>{{rp|75}}

When Phyllis and Walter dump the corpse on the tracks, they were supposed to get in their car and drive away. The crew shot the scene as written. As Wilder left the exterior location, however, his car would not start. He ordered the crew back and reshot the scene with Phyllis struggling to start her car. Wilder insisted MacMurray turn the ignition so slowly that the actor protested.<ref name="Creatures"/>{{rp|175–6}}<ref name="zolmain"/>{{rp|116}}

Wilder managed to bring the whole production in under budget at $927,262 despite $370,000 in salaries for just four people: $100,000 each for MacMurray, Stanwyck, and Robinson; $44,000 for Wilder's writing plus $26,000 for his directing.<ref name="sikmain">[[Ed Sikov|Sikov, Ed]] (1998). ''On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder''. New York: Hyperion. {{ISBN|978-0-7868-6194-1}}. 197–213.</ref>{{rp|211}} Wilder considered ''Double Indemnity'' his best film because it had so few scripting and shooting errors.<ref>"One Head Is Better Than Two," ''[[Films and Filming]]''. (London), February 1957.</ref> He marked Cain's praise for ''Double Indemnity'' and [[Agatha Christie]]'s praise for [[Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film)|his adaptation]] of ''[[Witness for the Prosecution (play)|Witness for the Prosecution]]'' as two high points in his career.<ref name="Hoo"/>

===Original ending===
The screenplay ends with Keyes watching Neff's execution in the [[gas chamber]]. Wilder shot the scene from Neff's perspective, looking out of the gas chamber at Keyes.<ref name="Naremore">Naremore, James. ''More than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. 
:See page 94 for two still photos of the execution scene.</ref> Wilder shot for five days and spent $150,000 on the scene, which he felt was one of the best he ever directed.<ref name="Moffat"/><ref>Hartack, Don. Cinematexas Program Notes, 20 no. 1 (1981): 18-19.</ref> Production stills of this scene exist, and the footage may still be in Paramount's vaults.<ref name="Naremore"/>

However, the director ultimately decided to end the film with Keyes and Neff in their office, because "You couldn't have a more meaningful scene between two men...The story was between the two guys."<ref name="Creatures"/>{{rp|180}} Chandler objected to the change.<ref name="Lally"/>{{rp|137–8}} Joseph Breen felt the execution was "unduly gruesome",<ref>Production Code Administration report, December 1, 1943, [[Margaret Herrick Library]] of the Motion Picture Academy, Los Angeles.</ref> and its removal settled his office's last issue with the film.<ref name="zolmain"/>{{rp|118}}