Which 1944 film directed by Billy Wilder is a classic film noir based on a James M. Cain novel?

Which 1944 film directed by Billy Wilder is a classic film noir based on a James M. Cain novel? The answer is Double Indemnity.

The film follows insurance salesman Walter Neff, who conspires with Phyllis Dietrichson to murder her husband and collect a life-insurance payout. Fred MacMurray plays Neff, Barbara Stanwyck plays Phyllis, and Edward G. Robinson portrays claims investigator Barton Keyes, whose sharp instincts begin closing in on the scheme.

James M. Cain’s story first appeared as an eight-part serial in Liberty magazine in 1936 and was later published in book form. Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler adapted it for Paramount, working under the restrictions of the Production Code, which made the novel’s murder plot especially difficult to bring to the screen.

A common mix-up is The Postman Always Rings Twice, another Cain adaptation, but that is a separate story. Double Indemnity is widely regarded as one of the defining films of American film noir, known for its cynical narration, moral corruption, shadowy cinematography, and fatalistic atmosphere.