Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Billy Wilder
Screenplay by	Billy Wilder Raymond Chandler
Based on	Double Indemnity by James M. Cain
Produced by	Joseph Sistrom [uncredited]
Starring	Fred MacMurray Barbara Stanwyck Edward G. Robinson Porter Hall Jean Heather Tom Powers Byron Barr Richard Gaines Fortunio Bonanova John Philliber
Cinematography	John Seitz
Edited by	Doane Harrison
Music by	Miklós Rózsa
Production company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	July 3, 1944 (1944-07-03) (United States)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$980,000

Double Indemnity is a 1944 American film noir directed by Billy Wilder and produced by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Sistrom. Wilder and Raymond Chandler adapted the screenplay from James M. Cain's novel of the same name, which ran as an eight-part serial in Liberty magazine in 1936.

The film stars Fred MacMurray as insurance salesman Walter Neff, who plots with a woman (Barbara Stanwyck) to kill her husband in order to claim a life insurance payment, arousing the suspicion of claims manager Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson). The title refers to a "double indemnity" clause which doubles life insurance payouts when death occurs in a statistically rare manner.

The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Widely regarded as a classic, it is often cited as having set the standard for film noir and as one of the greatest films of all time.