First in the series of late 40s sap noir (Out-of-the-Past 47 The-Postman-Always-Rings-Twice 46 The-Killers 46), a tag inspired by Maltese Falconer Sam Spade who refused to "play" one. Not so much dark as brown around the edges criminal melodrama, sap-noir begins to drip when a male in lead (MacMurray) falls under the spell of a designing dame (Stanwyck) who hatches a scheme that's doomed from the get-go, one the cluckhead just can't resist and then it's only a matter of time until the bloodhound in residence (Robinson) figures their game and the malefactors both end up eating a bullet or getting the electric chair. Seemingly normal men who work in a professional capacity do not throw it all over, i.e., commit pre-meditated murder, because of "a little bit of money (Margie)" and a dame with a dye-job and nice pair of gams, especially when he knows the designer might some day do the same thing to him. There must be a foundation, a basis for belief in eachother to invite serious risk taking (See also; Bonnie-And-Clyde 67 Gun-Crazy 50), something entirely lacking in Double.
The story is predictable, dialogue pulpy and actors faces all as familiar as the Studio's moralizing message, 'Crime never pays!,' yet, with Wilder directing and Barbara the fatale, even as she looks more ridiculous than devious, its cult status is strong. Billy mastered the dram-com (Stalag Sunset Some), not so the straight drama where his darkness devolves into depressing (Ace-in-the-Hole Lost-Weekend). Jean Peters or Beverly Michaels (Pickup) might've made this Cain work more credible as tawdry temptress just wasn't in Stany's wheelhouse. I wouldn't give it the time, but if you like classic celebrity and following trends, this might be the parade you're looking for (2/4).
The story is predictable, dialogue pulpy and actors faces all as familiar as the Studio's moralizing message, 'Crime never pays!,' yet, with Wilder directing and Barbara the fatale, even as she looks more ridiculous than devious, its cult status is strong. Billy mastered the dram-com (Stalag Sunset Some), not so the straight drama where his darkness devolves into depressing (Ace-in-the-Hole Lost-Weekend). Jean Peters or Beverly Michaels (Pickup) might've made this Cain work more credible as tawdry temptress just wasn't in Stany's wheelhouse. I wouldn't give it the time, but if you like classic celebrity and following trends, this might be the parade you're looking for (2/4).