The last stop's the cemetery.

I had been waiting to watch this film for a very long time thanks to the reputation I'd read about it being one of the greatest 'noir' films of all time. I must say I wasn't disappointed after finally settling down to see it in all of it's 100 minutes of black and white glory.

The story begins with a suspicious figure driving erratically through the streets in the early hours. It turns out this man is Walter Neff, and he's on his way back to his insurance office to confess a story to his long time friend and colleague via Dictaphone. The story then presents us with the flashback sequence of events which led to his current scenario.

The character of Walter Neff is simply brilliant. He's pretty much everything I aspire to be in a man. A smooth talking charmer, the epitome of cool, an intelligent conversationalist loaded with witty remarks. These characteristics ensure that Neff excels at his job as an insurance salesman and it is during a routine house call to a policy holder he meets the alluring Mrs Dietrichson. There is an instant attraction and Neff lays his charm on thick, despite the fact that she is the wife of the man he is here to insure. It soon becomes clear that Mrs Dietrichson is an unhappy housewife, and she attempts to trick Neff into allowing her to insure her husband's life without him knowing. As a seasoned salesman, he instantly recognises such a scheme as a prelude to murder and he exits the house after reprimanding her for her wretched intent.

But he is still smitten. An innocent man, he is doomed to help the damsel in distress and for all his cool and sophisticated demeanour, he is ultimately weak willed and easily led astray. Barbara Stanwyck, as a classic Femme Fatale character, uses this to her advantage, tracking him down to his own apartment and laying on one last desperate plea for his help, a plea he is helpless to refuse. The film follows the pair as they attempt to hatch a scheme that could be brilliant enough not only to fool the authorities, but also Neff's colleague, Barton Keyes, a renowned claims adjuster who has shot down countless fraudulent claims in his career. Keyes is another instrumental figure in the film and is almost father-like to Neff, his character is steadfast and brilliantly portrayed. As Neff continues to dictate the story into his dictaphone, he does so in a manner that is wholly respectful to the brilliance of his superior. I found their relationship to be the most interesting in the film.

The classic noir elements come at you thick and fast. Aside from the innocent man cajoled into wrong doing by a ravishing female, you have the fact that almost all of the scenes occur either during the night and any scene during the day occurs predominantly inside while utilising heavy use of Venetian blinds and closed curtains. As the plot unfolds the use of close-ups and scenes where the characters are enclosed in tight spaces build an air of claustrophobia and enhance the suspense.

As their dastardly deed is slowly unravelled, Neff must juggle the guilt of his actions with apparent indifference to the case as his best laid plans are eventually unravelled. There are further twists and turns as the true intentions of Mrs Dietrichson are unveiled and the film eventually culminates in a final showdown between Neff and Keyes, with the latter looking genuinely devastated by Neff's actions.

I was entertained throughout and the characters of Neff and Keyes are definite strong points in the film. Barbara Stanwyck's character was less interesting and she wasn't helped by a dreadful costume/wig ensemble. A criticism of the film could be just how rapidly the relationship between Neff and Dietrichson deteriorated as I had to watch the preceding scene again to come to terms with what had happened. Other than that, I felt the final scene was definitely the most poignant and I had a sincere sympathy for Keyes - a man whose trust had been brutally betrayed by a man he regarded as a son.

8/10

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Added by Grand Assault 1 year ago on 19 July 2008 02:28