The
ending of the film Double Indemnity
falls within the style of film noir
to a much greater degree than its novella counterpart. In the novella, Walter and Phyllis aren’t
brought to justice in the traditional manner.
Barton Keyes, in an apparent effort to save face for the insurance
company, “allows” Walter to get away, only to be confronted by Phyllis while on
a cruise to Mexico that was supposed to be his getaway. Once they realized that they had been
recognized by the crew of the ship, they decide to kill themselves by jumping
overboard in the night. While this is a
suitably dark ending, it doesn’t fall within the norm for film noir, where the “bad guys” usually end up paying for their
actions in a more “normal” way. “Of
course, the old motto of the pre-War shorts from MGM, “Crime doesn’t pay,” is
still the order of the day and there must be moral retribution.” –Raymond Borde
and Etienne Chaumeton, “Towards a Definition of Film Noir”
Using
Borde’s and Chaumeton’s definition of the norms for film noir we see that the movie ending is much more within the
average scope of film noir
endings. At the end of the movie we see
Keyes walking in on the end of Walter’s confession to him using Keyes’
dictation machine. Walter then attempts
to leave, asking that Keyes wait to call the police for a couple of hours so
Walter can get to Mexico and safety.
Walter collapses on his way out.
Keyes walks up to him, and Walter knows that his time is up. At this point Keyes has an ambulance called
to come take care of Walter, not to mention bringing the police along with
them. The film ends with Keyes lighting
Walter’s cigarette, a reversal of what is seen throughout the rest of the
movie.
Double Indemnity uses another film noir staple while telling its
story; the flashback. “Narratives are
frequently complex and convoluted, typically told with flashbacks…” –Filmsite. The movie, as well as the book, shares the story
of Walter by Walter himself, using a long flashback sequence. The difference between the two is the method
of which is used. In the book, Walter is
writing out his story to be left behind after he has killed himself with
Phyllis on their cruise to Mexico. In
the movie, however, we see Walter speaking into a dictation machine in Keyes’
office. He is leaving his confession for
Keyes, and then he intends to flee to Mexico, though he gets caught in the
end. This narrative style is used to
produce a feeling of fatalism, which is a common trait for noir. Because we know the
outcome prior to the end of the movie, as well as the book, we know that Walter
is trapped not matter what happens. This
lends to the feeling of fatalism, even if we are rooting for Walter to get away
with it.
