Movie Minx

Starring: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
Directed by: Billy Wilder

Plot: An insurance rep lets himself be talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigator’s suspicions.

But is it any good?

I watched Double Indemnity for the first time last night knowing nothing about it, but I generally like Billy Wilder movies. This one was entertaining and a good film noir, but not amazing.

I’m always a little alarmed to see Fred MacMurray play the brooding protagonist (here called Walter) in films, having known him previously as the mild-mannered, sexless middle-aged dad in My Three Sons on TV. Here he does an okay job playing the hapless insurance dude who falls heavily for a manipulative blonde tart (although wearing a bad, bad, George Washington-style wig).

But certain things distract and draw the thrill-ride to a halt: Walter’s use of the word “baby” in every single sentence starts to grate; MacMurray didn’t even bother to take off his real-life wedding ring; and you’ve gotta love Stanwyck’s character’s effort to go incognito by wearing sunglasses in the grocery store.

(Slight spoilers ahead, by the way…)

In short, you do need to suspend your sense of disbelief, as the seemingly smart Walter agrees to take part in the top-off-pretty-woman’s-mean-hubby plan remarkably quickly, sending the racy plot on many twists and turns. Will the sharp-witted insurance manager (Robinson, with excellent lines) cotton on to the fact that his underling and close friend is involved in the rapidly unravelling murder con? Will they take the money and run? Will Walter flee the country or spend several hours confessing into a ridiculous looking dictaphone at the office first?

Watch and find out. It’s a fun and supposedly classic film-noir, if a little frivolous. I’m not convinced it deserves a place in the top 50.

IMDb’s rating: 8.4/10
My rating: 7.5/10

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