THROWBACK THURSDAY: Double Indemnity
By Haydn Hickson
According to Paul Schrader, film noir is not a genre. Rather the term refers to a collection of films embedded with a distinct tone and moods of “cynicism, pessimism and darkness”. As critics have attempted to derive a film noir criteria, based off films carrying this distinct tone and mood, their findings have led them to an incoherent resolution, fundamentally contradicting each one another. Paul Schrader’s “Notes on Film Noir”, written with hindsight in 1972, offers what he believes to be the standardised parameters of film noir’s visual style and influences. These are manifested in cultural influences, stylistic elements and re-occurring themes. Whilst his definition encapsulates the visual aesthetics of film noir, his perspective is limited when it comes to the human bodies on screen and their reinforcement of normative ideology. The presentation of a new masculinity, the femme fatale and the hindrances of the production code are all elements of film noir, not mentioned in Paul Schrader’s notes. Being that of a film noir cannon classic, Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity, at one time or another, displays all of Schrader’s cultural influences and stylistic elements, adhering holistically to his definition. Nevertheless, this essay will additionally argue, that the presentation of these elements, ultimately perpetuates a masculine, feminine and patriarchal ideology onto the spectator.
NEW MASCULINITY: EMASCULATION IN DOUBLE INDEMNITY
Given the Post-Depression and mid-War milieu the film was released in, it is evident that Double Indemnity displays Schrader’s definition of film noir, through its presentation of stylistic elements (including romantic narration, water, lines and a complex chronological order), inspired by context. Nonetheless, its visual style ultimately transmits a rejection of traditional forms of masculinity, perpetuating men through a discourse of delusion, emasculation and instability. Historically, manifestations of masculinity have been synonymous with notions of power, aggression and exercising control. However, noir men have been excluded from this hegemonic masculinity bubble. Schrader details one of the four catalytic elements that inspired the tonality of film noir, was the ‘War and Post-War Disillusionment’ (1998, 54). Following on from the Depression, this cultural shift saw a destabilisation in traditional gender roles in American society. Throughout the Depression, there was mass-male unemployment and throughout the war women were being conscripted to the factories. The result of this saw a “forgotten manhood” (Allen 2015) discourse spread socially, and a reflection of this hit the silver-screen.
The first aspect of this forgotten manhood is propelled through the theme of delusion. Throughout film noir, delusion was illustrated in the male’s lack of perspective and an inability to see the world clearly. This is evidenced in Double Indemnity through Walter’s delusion when in the presence of Phyllis. Although Phyllis’ dialogue infers hints about her underlying plan of murdering her husband, these go over Walter’s head, exhibiting an inability to see Phyllis objectively. Such delusion is illustrated to the audience in the use of romantic narration in the voice-over as Walter states “How could I have known that murder can sometimes smell like honeysuckle…I didn’t, I felt like a million”. Another stylistic trope Schrader details is the “almost Freudian attachment to water” (1998, 57), which is exhibited in the use of rain as a symbol for a clouding of judgement, as Walter and Phyllis embrace in an apartment, and initiate their murderous plan.
Additionally, the second discourse within the masculine umbrella is the downfall of man (or the dehumanisation and emasculation of male bodies). This emasculation is illustrated to the spectator through the evolution of Walter Neff within his friendship with Barton-Keyes. Initially audiences deduce Walter as a traditionally masculine character, through his reckless driving at the film’s orientation (notably with the use of realistic sets – referencing Schrader’s “Post-war realistic period” cultural influence) [1998, 55]. In encounters he has with Keyes, he holds dominance over him through his height and positioning on the screen. However, as Walter lights a match for Keyes, this becomes a running, emasculated motif throughout the film, as historically this action stereotypically takes place between a man and a woman. This emasculation fundamentally metamorphoses to dehumanisation, during Walter’s death scene. The film’s final shot sees Walter fall to the ground, with Keyes positioned higher, over his body, ending on the action of Keyes lighting a match for Walter. The shot lingers on Keyes physically over Walter’s body, for the first time in the film, fundamentally exhibiting the downfall of the masculine man.
Finally, the theme of instability is couched in noir through the troubled male figure losing control, often illustrated through Schrader’s stylistic element of “tension” (1998, 57). Tension is introduced to the narrative through dramatic irony, as the audiences witness Walter and Phillis navigate through society, despite being aware of their murderous intentions. An example of this is demonstrated through Walter’s movements on the train. With the mid-shot following Walter’s backside, the audience are subject to the interior of the train. The doors, windows and other props dominate the mis-en-scene, filling it with oblique and vertical lines, creating a sense of instability. These lines furthermore, are present given the German Expressionist influence that came to Hollywood in the twenties and thirties, as illuminated by Schrader’s analysis of cultural influences (1998, 55-56). This instability transforms into an extremely tense atmosphere as another passenger on the train invites Walter for a smoke. Additionally, ongoing tension is articulated to the audience through scenes within the supermarket store. Scenes taken place in this setting often involve Walter and Phillis updating each other of their movements. These scenes are ultimately examples of what Schrader believes to be an “over-riding noir theme: a passion for the past and present, but also a fear of the future” (1998, 58), as the characters live day-by-day, trying to avoid getting caught. As each supermarket scene passes, tension between the two grows, evidence of the male figure losing control of the female presence. Thus, through Schrader’s definition of noir, it is evident that a new form of masculinity is presented to the spectator, through aesthetically noir elements.
NEW FEMININTY: INTRODUCING THE FEMME FATALE
Additionally, when reading Double Indemnity through Schrader’s “Notes on Film Noir”, a new kind of femininity is illustrated to the audience. The motion picture aligns with Schrader’s definition through the cultural and stylistic elements within the narrative, ultimately presenting a woman character reflecting the changing gender norms of the time. Although rooted in misogynistic culture, film noir films present two types of women: the domesticated woman and the femme fatale. The following analysis is concerned with the latter, as she represents a new depiction of women in Hollywood. The femme fatale is a commodified spectacle; a glamourous woman whom demands the gaze of the viewer. This to-be-looked-at-ness (Mulvey 1975), however, is on her own terms (especially in the case of Double Indemnity), thus differentiating herself from the passive domestic. The birth of this character stems from the context of the post-depression, mid-war era, which saw the recruitment of women into factories and clerical roles. This shift away from domestic life was reflected in the strong and liberated female characters in film noir. Nevertheless, as Schrader reports, there was the influence of the hard-boiled tradition in noir and “American films became markedly more sardonic - … there was a boom in crime film” (1998, 54). As the screenplay for Double Indemnity was adapted from a crime novel, we can see this cynicism creep in through the characterisation of Phyllis Dietrichson. As women in film noir were ultimately defined against men, the character-trope of the femme fatale eventually evolved to be the embodiment of male fears at the time. This new strength of the female gender became a threat to antiquated forms of marital culture, which ultimately translated to the cinema in evil and manipulative characterisation of women.
In analysing Double Indemnity, one need not look further than the first scene in which we are introduced to Phyllis Dietrichson. Almost immediately, Phyllis’ sexual magnetism manipulates the initially-powerful male, disrupting traditional power dynamics. The scene opens as Walter barges past a female-maid and enters the empty space. Through the use of an up-shot and rule-of-thirds, salience is placed on Phyllis’ entrance, ultimately giving her the power in the scene. Covered in a towel, she has Walter hypnotised as the romantic narration reads “I was thinking about that Dame upstairs and the way she looked at me, I wanted to see her again, close, without that silly staircase between us”. As the audience are led through the film via the romantic narration of Walter, the subjective introduction to the character of Phyllis is audibly dictated to the spectator. After she is introduced as the powerful, mesmerising character – her evilness and manipulative qualities are slowly come about, as the audience understand her history. As Walter murders Mr.-Dietrichson off-screen, the blaring horns are employed for dramatic effect and audiences are left on a lingering shot of Phyllis’ face, smirking as her husband slowly dies. The learning of her murderous past in conjunction with her nonchalant attitude during murder, display the femme fatale as holistically evil. This evil-nature of the femme fatale is furthered when audiences compare the character to the only other main female character in this movie, Lola Dietrichson. Presented as wholesome, domesticated and eventually one of the characters that help uncover the truth and bring about justice, the positive characterisation of Lola, reinforces the manipulative and evil qualities of Phyllis. This inadvertently reinforces an ideology that supresses powerful women, and encourages antiquated, domesticated gender roles. Thus, through the stylistic elements listed in Schrader’s definition of noir, Double Indemnity ultimately reflects the cultural context surrounding shifting gender roles with women.
THE HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTION CODE: A SILENT INFLUENCER ON NOIR
Although not mentioned in Schrader’s definition, the implementation of the Hollywood Production Code is a contextual element that effected the process of making film noir movies, especially those wanting to reflect the wartime zeitgeist. As Schrader describes the war disillusionment context, he states “audiences… were now eager to take a less optimistic view of things”, contrasting to the patriotic propaganda that producers were encouraged to make prior (1998, 54-5). This code ultimately hindered creativity and censored the cinematic output, in a way that was destined to perpetuate idealised ethics of the status quo ante. As illuminated by Andrew Young, we can see this in Double Indemnity in the way that the screenplay differentiated from the book it was based off. The film needed to rework the presentation of sex and violence as well as change the ending of the film to reflect an idealised ideology. The initial ending intended for Walter’s death to take place in a gas chamber, but given the Code, the violence was censored. The conclusion of the film sees Walter die in the hands of a friend, after audiences follow his POV detailing his fatal manipulation by an evil woman. Thus, it is evident that not only did the rewrite of the conclusion censor audiences from violence, but the resolution to the film reinforces a sexist ideology that ultimately hinders women from being powerful and leaving the domestic space. Contrastingly, in order to present sex to the audience, working around the Production Code, producers relied on innuendo in dialogue. Subsequently, this innuendo technique became a motif throughout the noir cannon. An example of this is the back-and-forth dialogue between Phillis and Walter, where they converse: “how fast was I going, officer” “I’d say around 90” “suppose you get off your motorcycle and give me a ticket”. This scene ultimately makes little to no sense without recognising its flirtatiousness undertones. Thus, to conclude the Hollywood Production Code ultimately affected the ways in which film noir was created, as it meant that studios would need to reflect the idea that church, government and family were the ideal orderly society. Nonetheless, screenwriters’ attempts to manoeuvre the Code manifested in the convention of innuendo, which became a comical trope for the critical category.
To conclude, Paul Schrader definition of film noir does well to encapsulate the visual aesthetics and plot influences in his detailing of the cultural contexts and the stylistic elements. However, this definition is limited in its absence of analyses of the specific bodies and interactions on screen. When reading Double Indemnity against this text, it becomes apparent that the cultural contexts inspired the presentation of a new kind of masculinity and the femme fatale, through stylistic elements. Additionally, it is evident that the production code is also a major factor that influenced the makings of film noir.
Reference List:
Allen, Holly. 2015. Forgotten Men And Fallen Women: The Cultural Politics Of New Deal Narratives. 1st ed. Ithaca, United States: Cornell University Press.
Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” Screen 16, no3, 1975, pp.6-18.
Schrader, Paul. “Notes on Film Noir,” in Film Noir Reader, eds. Alain Silver and James Ursini. New York: Limelight Editions, 1998. pp.53-64.
Young, Andrew. 2012. "Double Indemnity And The Hollywood Production Code". Wide Angle...https://varieurfilmstudies.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/5/7/2257880/doubleindemnityandthehayscode.pdf.