Black and White isn't always Black and White

Film Noir is perhaps the first film style that could be called uniquely American. The dark, brooding loner thrust into the middle of events that quickly go from something that appears to be beneficial at the outset to spiraling completely out of control with no end in sight. Director Errol Norris said “Great Noir films are films about fall guys; a person who finds himself caught in a net-the more he struggles the deeper he gets entwined.” Such is the case of Walter Neff, the protagonist character in Billy Wilder’s 1944 classic “Double Indemnity.”

Poor Walter, one might well think. Well at least in the beginning. Our protagonist is introduced as a simple insurance salesman that makes a routine follow up sales call to a client that has allowed an auto policy to lapse. When he arrives at the client’s house he meets not the client but his wife, Phyllis Dietrichson. One thing leads to another and before Walter can blink the two of them have begun plotting the murder of Mr. Dietrichson. Plans are made, insurance policies are written, suspense builds and in very short order Mr. Dietrichson is no longer amongst the living. It does not take long for things to begin to unravel for our couple. A suspicious antagonist in the form of Edward G. Robinson as the bulldog-like claims adjuster and a step daughter that is certain Phyllis not only killed her father, but several years earlier- her mother as well. From this point the lives of Walter and Phyllis quickly spiral out control in classic Noir style as they desperately try to stay one step ahead of the claims adjuster, the law, and eventually each other.

Earlier I said “at least in the beginning” about feeling sorry for Walter. Walter is definitely a fall guy to Phyllis’ femme fatale. She draws him in quickly and ensnares him deeply-as Janey Place said “: Men have always been endangered by a strong, sexual female. They’re extremely driven, selfish ambitious characters”. Phyllis is undoubtedly just that, which makes her classic Femme Fatale. From the moment we meet her at the top of the stairs in the Dietrichson house it is obvious that she knows what she wants and will go to nearly psychotic extremes to get it. But it takes two to tango, as the old saying goes. Walter allows himself to flirt with a married woman and is very willing to hear whatever she has to say, including plotting to murder her husband. By the time he begins to realize that she is using him just like she uses everyone around her, it is too late.

One need only look on the surface of “Double Indemnity” to know it is classic film noir in not only the sense of its characters and plot, but in its cinematography as well. The abundant use of shadows to hide movement, strategically placed lighting and location shooting in open fields, back alleys and dirty streets give the viewer a genuine feel that they are living this tragedy right alongside our protagonist.

A newer genre is the neo-noir film. The modern filmmakers attempt at noir using the same plot lines, similar character development with the addition of color film stock. While entertaining to watch I would have to say that they lack the style of the original noir films of the 1940’s and 50’s. Skillful use of camera angles, planned shots, lighting and shadows that established the feel of a classic noir film just seem to be lost with the addition of color. One must remember that noir wasn’t just shadows and black and white film stock- it was the attitude of the audience. America had just fought a vicious war overseas and was embarking on the threat of nuclear annihilation in the cold war. Many things had changed for the average person and that caused a change in thinking. After going through all that the plot lines of a noir film just didn’t have the appeal they once did.