Double Indemnity is a crime novel that was written by author and journalist, James M. Cain. The plot of Double Indemnity is about an insurance salesman by the name of Walter Huff who fell in love with the married woman, Phyllis Nirdlinger. Throughout the novel, both Huff and Nirdlinger pursue their love for each other and faces the drama from everyone around them. The novel was successful enough that Hollywood adapted the book into a film in 1944. The film Double Indemnity would then be directed by Billy Wilder with the assistance of Raymond Chandler. Eventually, the film became successful and was nominated for several Academy Awards. Despite the successful ending, the film had to find ways to either bypass or follow the rules of Hollywood’s …show more content…
Production Code. In addition, the film’s ending was vastly different from the original novel which received a fair number of critics from film critics. While the ending was changed from the original novel, it worked out better for both the audiences and Double Indemnity’s plot consistency. One of the reasons for the change of endings between the novel and the film is due to the Motion Picture Production Code.
The Production Code prevents any film from being produced if it deviates too far from the Production Code’s guidelines for keeping the public audience safe. According to the author of “Blackout”, Sheri Chinen Biesen, the film took eight years to meet the Production Code’s requirements. In the fourth Chapter of “Blackout”, Biesen states that one of Hollywood’s objection towards the production of the film is how it sets a plan on how to conduct the perfect murder and gets away with it. According to Biesen, the story of Double Indemnity “. . . so many aspects of Cain’s story violated the Production Code that he was “compelled to reject” any consideration of it for studio production” (Biesen, p. 99), which would mean the original story would not fall under the Production Code’s guideline. Along with the head of the Production Code, Joseph Breen’s opinion on the matter, he confirmed that the original ending of Double Indemnity could not be produced and aired to the public …show more content…
audience. To talk about why the film’s interpretation of the ending is overall better, we should make a comparison of both the film and the original novel’s ending.
In the novel, both Walters and Phyllis are implied to committed suicide together by jumping off the back of the ship during night time, as stated in the novel, “I didn’t hear the stateroom door open, but she’s beside me now while I’m writing. I can feel her. The moon” (Cain, p. 327), to show the last sentences Walter wrote in his “autobiography”. The ending is left to the readers’ interpretation on how the film ended, such as what does the moon mean, did they really commit double suicide, etc. Compared to the film’s interpretation of the ending, it shows Walters limping his way towards the elevator, only to fall due to blood loss from the bullet wound. Then Keyes called an ambulance to assist Walters and later gives one last cigarette light to Walters before the screen fades to black. While the audience may not know what truly happens to Walter in the end, at least there is a form of closure with his character with Keyes rather than how ambiguous he was portrayed in the
novel. Speaking of Keyes, his character was significantly changed from how he was portrayed from the novel to the film. In Wilder’s film, Keyes was seen and portrayed as a moral character for Walter to look up to. Not only did Keyes offer Walter a way out of his dilemma with Phyllis, but he gave Walter a male-bonding experience that was lacking in the original novel. Biesen stated, “Neff’s personal confession to Keyes by dictating the story’s narration also adds an intimate male-bonding camaraderie that would have appealed to men in military units.” (Biesen, p.106), to show the improvements Biesen noted from the transition to a film set. While I agree with Biesen on Keyes’ involvement, I think she should add that Keyes was also seen as a morally correct character compared to the rest of the cast. The rest of the cast either has a darker side to them, such as Walter or did not leave that much impact on the audience such as Lola. Having Keyes as the correct character not only pleases the Production Code’s standards, but gives depth to him as a character compared to his more gangster like approach in the novel. With not only the task of fulfilling both the Production Code’s requirements and retaining the dark tones of the original novel, director Billy Wilder not only did such that, but created a staple in the film noir genre. Even with the limited budget and talent for the film production, Biesen and even the original author Cain are beyond impressed with Wilder’s work as Cain commented, “One of the finest pictures ever made . . . I tell you, it is just beautiful.” (Biesen, p. 110). In addition, the use of darkness and specific lighting also gave the film a dark yet unique atmosphere of film noir that could not be easily captured compared to the novel. Another aspect that is important is the soundtrack that plays in specific scenes. One scene would be the murder of Mr. Dietrictson, as the instrument picks up in both loudness and tempo to emphasize the urgency and tension of the murder. There are also times where the music is more mellow and low-tone to give off the sense of reflection and second-thoughts. Such as whenever the film cuts back into the present with Walters confessing over a Dictaphone, the music plays in a rhythmic pace with a soft volume to give a sense of foreshadowing of what is to come. After the hardships of adapting the story of Double Indemnity for the public audiences, the film would soon receive all the praise and recognition it deserves as a film noir classic. Double Indemnity would also start a path for other future films in the film noir genre as well. As mentioned by Beisen, “Double Indemnity pushed the envelope of the Motion Picture Production Code of 190 to its limit and paved the way for dark, controversial films to be produced in the future.” (Biesen, p. 98). However, it was thanks to the changes made to the original storyline that created such a classic. From the alternate yet more satisfying ending of the film to the development of Keyes, the film not only surpassed the novel in terms of consistency, but still gave the audience a dark and enjoyable film that paved the way for future film noir type films.
Eric Wright’s Twins is unique and original story about a writer and his wife that leaves a lot to the mind while you are reading it. It is a story that makes you predict the outcome and keeps you interested on whether or not those outcomes will come true or not. It is a short story that has excellent characters that are in conflict against each other from the beginning but is not revealed until the climax. Any reader of this story will put this down feeling satisfied with the fantastic plot and great setting.
No longer is he this big, tall, smart man. He is now sweaty, hunched over in a chair, knowing that he has lost and plans to run away. Much like a husband on his death bed telling his wife to take care of his kids, Walter begs Keyes to protect Nino and Phyllis’ daughter, Lola (Jean Heather), after he is gone. This final sequence now shows Keyes dominating much of the frame, he is now the bigger figure, he has the power. Walter is slouched in the chair looking up to him now, completely opposite of their roles throughout the bulk of the movie. Though obviously stunned that Walter is a killer, Keyes still pities him. He does not try to physically restrain Walter nor does he call the police on him, he knows with the bullet wound, Walter will not make it to his destination of crossing the border. Walter struggles to the door and finally collapses, indicating his complete failure. Keyes follows him and kneels next to him, still dominating the frame. While we only see Walter’s face and torso, we can see pretty much Keyes’ entire body looking down to him. We get a almost flirtatious final conversation between the two as Walter explains the reason why Keyes could not figure out it was him, because they were too close, sitting across the desk from each other. Keyes responds by saying they were “closer than that”, indicating the depth of their relationship. Walter repeats a line he said earlier in the film, “I love you too”, before struggling to light a cigarette. Although it was Walter’s job to light Keyes’ cigarettes throughout the entire movie, everything has come full circle, the power has shifted, and Keyes lights Walter’s cigarette and the film ends. Keyes realizes his “lover” is gone and he must step up to run things now. He cannot be helpless and not be able to light his cigarettes now; he must help Walter light
There are many differences and similarities in the short story of “A Sound of Thunder” and the movie.
Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief (2005), and Steven Spielberg, director of Schindler’s List (1993), both use their works to portray the theme of racism in Nazi-era Germany. Racism today affects millions of people daily, with 4.6 million people being racial discrimination in Australia alone. However, in Nazi-era Germany, Jewish people were discrimination because they weren’t part of the ‘master race’, causing millions to suffer and be killed. To explore this theme, the setting, characters, conflicts and symbols in both The Book Thief and Schindler’s List will be analysed and compared.
In the novel, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, it tells of four Chinese women drawn together in San Francisco to play mah jong, and tell stories of the past. These four women and their families all lived in Chinatown and belong to the First Chinese Baptist Church. They were not necessarily religious, but found They could improve their home China. This is how the woo's, the Hsu's, the Jong's and the St Clair's met in 1949.
A Comparison A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury and The Star by H.G. Wells
The code, which was written by a Catholic priest, was approved by Hays, and then handed over to a ‘staunch lay Catholic’ Joseph Breen, who acted as head interpreter of/for the PCA. Why the PCA is relative to this class: The Production Code Administration marks a huge point in the film industry timeline – for the first time, it was a law that all (or, should I say most) movies had to comply with, or else a hefty $25,000 fine could be enforced. These guidelines that ultimately made up the PCA reigns over our modern films in today’s world, only now we have them rated G, PG, PG-13 etc., thus, movies can be made with content that the Catholic religion may or may not be ok with, and there aren’t any $25,000 fines being handed out – why? They comply with “PG-13” rating guidelines, etc.
Themes in the Novel and Movie Adaptation of James Cain’s Mildred Pierce. In contemporary film making, “Hollywood-ization” generally refers to the re-creation of a classic work in a form more vulgar and sexually explicit than the original in an effort to boost movie attendance. After all, sexuality and violence sell. However, from the mid-1930’s to the 1950’s, “Hollywood-ization” referred to the opposite case where controversial books had to be purified to abide by the Production Code of 1934.
Three tenets of the Production Code impact the film directly. The Hays Office states as follows:
By comparing and contrasting the Catching Fire novel and film, one can see that the film was effective in conveying some themes, and was not effective in conveying others. Hope is a major theme in the entire Hunger Games trilogy, although in Catching fire it becomes more apparent because of the start of the rebellion and the people’s interest in turning against the capitol. In both the novel and film this theme is shown through acts of unity and fury against the capitol. Symbolism and humane vs. inhumane acts are themes shown more clearly at times either in the Catching Fire novel or the Catching Fire film. These themes show the similarities and differences between the Catching Fire novel and film.
The conclusion of the play ends in Scene Nine, when the woman discovers the man attempting to steal away in the dark. She confronts him with their obvious desire for and need of each other, but the man persists in leaving. The woman hangs herself as soon as he is gone. Her death thwarts the man's love for her forever, ensuring that she herself will never have to surrender to a man only to be deserted by him. She is dead and does not see that the man does return to her, his love for her stronger than his fear of love.
...way through and just as he had fallen in love and lost the invisibility he had earlier, he died. The movie then finishes on a much happier note as everyone finds out what Kathryn is really like. at Sebastian's funeral with all his plans, thoughts and. schemes in is handed out just as Kathryn is making her speech. Which, the adage, is a slam.
Double Indemnity and Body Heat are two movies that deal with heated passion, tainted love, and reckless murders. Double Indemnity was created before Body Heat in the 1940's setting the tone for the film noir period of movies. Whereas the movie Body Heat created in the 1980's is a Neo-noir film that recreated certain elements from the film noir type movies. On a side note, Double Indemnity and Body Heat were both directed by men which is another similarity between the two movies. Double Indemnity clearly paved the way for Body Heat by giving audiences an updated version of the same story directors had created 30 years ago. Body Heat gives the audience a new perspective on just how far someone will go to be with the person they love. Both movies
Have you ever read a book and then watched the movie and saw many differences? Well you can also find lots of similarities. In the book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the movie “Tom and Huck” there are many similarities and differences having to do with the characters personalities, the setting, the characters relationships with one another and the events that take place.
Porter had 2 big movies he worked on does 2 where (life of an American fire man) and (the great train robbery). On The great train robbery Porter used cross-cutting editing method to show simultaneous action in different places. And the great train robbery had a running time of twelve minutes, with twenty separate shots and ten different indoor and outdoor locations. In the movie Life of an American Fireman Porter presents the same narratives where the fireman rescues a woman from a burning building as seen first from inside the building and then from camera setup outside the building. This duplication of event was a deviant use of editing, although other early films feature this kind of overlapping action. Porter also used parallel editing styles in the great train robber.