The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
Back to trending 
Double Indemnity
Crime · Thriller · 1944
An insurance representative is seduced by a dissatisfied housewife into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, a claims investigator.
Movie details
Double Indemnity
“It's love and murder at first sight!”
1944 Crime · Thriller 1h 47m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
8.3 / 10
176.8K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
97 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
95 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
8.1 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
An insurance representative is seduced by a dissatisfied housewife into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, a claims investigator.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Double Indemnity?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Nightfall
Crime · 1956
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
Dial M for Murder
Thriller · 1954
When her American lover visits London, a wealthy woman’s jealous husband hatches a plan to murder her and inherit her fortune.
This Gun for Hire
Crime · 1942
Sadistic killer-for-hire Philip Raven becomes enraged when his latest job is paid off in marked bills. Vowing to track down his double-crossing boss, nightclub executive Gates, Raven sits beside Gates' lovely new employee, Ellen, on a train out of town. Although Ellen is engaged to marry the police lieutenant who's hunting down Raven, she decides to try and set the misguided hit man straight as he hides from the cops and plots his revenge.
The Lady from Shanghai
Mystery · 1947
A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.
The Glass Key
Crime · 1942
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Family Plot
Comedy · 1976
Spiritualist Blanche Tyler and her cab-driving boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.
The Sting
Comedy · 1973
A novice con man teams up with an acknowledged master to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster.
Conflict
Thriller · 1945
Unhappily married Richard Mason concocts a meticulous scheme to kill his shrewish wife so that he'll be free to marry her sister.
The Big Combo
Drama · 1955
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.
The Thomas Crown Affair
Crime · 1968
A debonair, adventuresome bank executive believes that he has pulled off the perfect multi-million dollar heist--until he must match wits with an insurance investigator who will do anything to get her man.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Billy Wilder
Written by
Billy Wilder · Raymond Chandler
Fred MacMurray
Walter Neff
Barbara Stanwyck
Phyllis Dietrichson
Edward G. Robinson
Barton Keyes
Porter Hall
Mr. Jackson
Jean Heather
Lola Dietrichson
Tom Powers
Mr. Dietrichson
Byron Barr
Nino Zachetti
Court is in session
Put Double Indemnity on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.