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Friday, July 01, 2011

Friday Flicks: Double Indemnity

The first time I'd heard of Double Indemnity (1944) was when Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman did a parody skit of the movie on The Carol Burnett Show. Hilarious! Years later when I finally got around to seeing the movie, I was in for a treat.

This is one of the best movies of all time. I was already familiar with Fred MacMurray from My Three Sons, so seeing him as an insurance salesman bent on murder was quite a surprise. Barbara Stanwyck was mysterious and gorgeous...a tough lady seducing Fred with her sexy anklet. And as for Edward G. Robinson...HOLY COW! He was fantastic. His best role EVER!

A while back I wrote a parody of this movie as a "Twas the Night Before Christmas" poem. I called it "Twas the Night Before Murder."

4 comments:

  1. I've never watched this movie, but the trailer looks good.

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  2. It's funny that you had Carol Burnett to introduce you to this wonderful movie - I had a parody introduction too - it was the still-incredibly-clever Steve Martin movie Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, which edits in scenes from something like eighteen old 40's movies, letting Martin's Rigby Reardon character interact with actors like Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Humphrey Bogart - and Fred McMurray - but not Barbara Stanwyck - for reasons I'll leave out to preserve the surprise and humor. I later sat down with the real Double Indemnity - and it was quite the sight to see - that definitely wasn't Steven Douglas, the old lady from The Colbys, and the old guy from Soylent Green up there! It's engrossing, twisty, and pretty mean for a 1940's movie - and I'm very fond of it! Another spot on choice, Luana!

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  3. Belle: It's a terrific movie. Highly recommended. Let me know what you think.

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  4. Craig: I love Steve Martin...he's been my inspiration for years. The film noir genre is just asking for parody. All those shadows, window blinds, guns, fedoras and high heels. It's wonderful!

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