Double Indemnity

Directed by Billy Wilder, 1944
NR; 107 minutes

“This shrewd, smoothly tawdry thriller, directed by Billy Wilder, is one of the high points of nineteen-forties films.” —Pauline Kael, The New Yorker

Academy Award-nominee Barbara Stanwyck (Baby Face, The Lady Eve) embodies the archetypal femme fatale in this essential classic from legendary Hollywood director Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard, Some Like it Hot.)

A smoldering housewife (Stanwyck) seduces a square-jawed insurance salesman (Fred MacMurray, The Apartment, TV’s My Three Sons) into a complex plot to dispatch her husband and cash in on his life insurance. Based on a novel by hardboiled fiction author James M. Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice) Double Indemnity features enough twists, turns, and smoky atmosphere to keep audiences rivetted over eighty years later.

This screening will include a newly recorded video discussion with film historian and Barbara Stanwyck devotee Stan Shaffer.

The “My Favorite Films” series features tales of romance, humor, suspense, satire, and heroism with films since 1945. These films may hold special memories for you—no matter how many times you see them, they continue to draw you in once more. While many of these films are available through streaming, it's always more fun to see them in the theatre.

Cowtown Movie Classics (CMC) is partnering with My Favorite Films to take you down the damp streets and smoky alleyways of the criminal mind with three film noir essentials.

Literally French for “black film,” the term film noir was a retroactive description of wartime and post-World War II crime films. Known for their stylized black-and-white cinematography, these films explored the darker side of life, featuring gangsters and guns, dangerous dames, and determined detectives. Rather than clear-cut heroes and villains, film noir emphasized moral ambiguity.

The Deadly Dames series showcases different examples of the femme fatale trope through films from the height of the noir movement in the mid-1940s. Each screening is introduced by CMC Host Ryan Bijan.

Make a day of it at the Modern and include extra time to visit the galleries. Enjoy lunch in Café Modern and then settle in for an afternoon screening, or plan for a coffee break afterwards with fellow film enthusiasts.

Screenings are at 2 pm most Wednesdays in the auditorium. Tickets are $5 (FREE for Modern members) and are available at the Museum’s admission desk or online here.