"Double Indemnity" Blog #2

In the article “Towards a definition of Film Noir” by the authors Raymond Bordeble and Etienne Chaumeton talk about “How film noir is crime from within and how it is from the point of view from the criminal. In my opinion, I do think that the comment does relate to the novel Double Indemnity. Because in the novel Double Indemnity we are reading from the criminals point of view which is Walter Huff, and not from the victim’s point of view which is Mr. Nirdlinger.

The novel Double Indemnity does fit the various definitions of film noir, because we have a femme fatale and she is a very manipulative and desperate woman. She is desperate into getting accident policy insurance for her husband. But what we find out is the real reason why she is desperate into getting that accident policy insurance for her husband. She is manipulative because she is seducing Walter Huff into giving her that accident policy insurance for her husband, which he ends up committing a murder for her so they can end up being together. I’m not sure if the femme fatale does qualify for the other definitions because I have only read the book, I haven’t seen the movie yet.

Chapters 1-9. Walter Huff is an insurance salesman, and he went to Mr. Nirdlinger’s house so he could renew his insurance policy. Except he doesn’t see Mr. Nirdlinger, he visits Mrs. Nirdlinger and talks to her about that her husband needs to renew his insurance policy. They got to talking and all of a sudden she asked him “Do you handle accident insurance”

Mrs. Nirdlinger told Walter Huff the reason her husband should get accident insurance because he is the “Los Angeles representative of the Western Pipe and Supply Company”. “She said that’s where is office is, but mostly he is in the oil fields”. But the weird thing about it is, Mrs. Nirdlinger doesn’t want to tell her husband that she thinks he should get accident insurance on himself because of his dangerous job. But she also doesn’t want Walter Huff to talk to her husband about accident insurance either.

Mrs. Nirdlinger starts going to Walter Huff’s place, and they start to play how they are going to kill Mr. Nirdlinger but they need to make it look like an accident. But Walter Huff needs to take out the accident insurance policy first without Mr. Nirdlinger knowing before they could plan committing his murder.

Once Mr. Nirdlinger renewals his insurance policy and signs the accident insurance policy without knowing the plan is back in motion for his murder. But Huff and Mrs. Nirdlinger need a place where he will go by train and not his car. They finally found out when they could do it and that’s when he would go down to his class reunion in At Palto Alto. He wanted to drive, but he ended up breaking his leg so he had to take the train. “Take the train but not really take the train”

Huff and Mrs. Nirdlinger planned that she would forget her pocket book at d home so gthat she and Mr. Nirdlinger would have to go back and get it. While Mr. Nirdlinger was getting it, Huff would climb into the car and lay in the backseat till it was time. Once they got to the spot, Huff broke Mr. Nirdlinger’s neck and tied him up. Huff dressed like Mr. Nirdlinger and got on the train. So it looked that Mr. Nirdlinger actually got on the train. Then he got off the train without anyone knowing, and met up with Mrs. Nirdlinger who was carrying Mr. Nirdlinger and they were going to put him on the train tracks, so it looked like he fell off the train and fell onto the train tracks.

When the police found him and the insurance department they thought it might have been a suicide, but they also thought the wife was the suspect but she also had an accomplice. And they would be watching her very closely and to see where she goes and who she is with. So it looks like the romance Mr. Huff and Mrs. Nirdlinger wanted to create after commiting Mr. Nirdlingers murder might have to be on hold for now.

While reading this book, to be honest I didn’t think that it would be all that interesting, but I actually couldn’t put the book down. I am very anxious to find out if they get caught or if they don’t get caught. And if they actually get to continue the romance that they started.