Straight Down The Line, Baby | DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) | Movie Reaction

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  • Опубліковано 16 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 78

  • @marlasotherchannel9847
    @marlasotherchannel9847 8 місяців тому +15

    Great movie, good reaction. Edward G. Robinson is a pillar of classic Hollywood.

  • @TowGunner
    @TowGunner 6 днів тому +2

    Great reaction. Robinson should have won the Academy Award or at least nominated. He was fantastic.

  • @littleghostfilms3012
    @littleghostfilms3012 8 місяців тому +11

    Barbara Stanwyck was one of the greatest actors in Hollywood history. She rose up from a poor childhood as an orphan, was a teenage dancer, then had a long, long, career all the way to I think her 80's. In the 1930's she was so famous she had the highest salary for a woman in America. And she was known for her professionalism on movie sets, always on time, knew her lines, and was a total class act. She could do any kind of role, suspense, comedy, romance. She grew up in the slums of NY, but ended up in California, where she learned to ride horses, starred in Westerns later in her career, and owned a ranch. Nobody like her in movie history.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому +2

      Now that's a great role model for celebrities 👍🏻

    • @BlueShadow777
      @BlueShadow777 8 місяців тому +2

      Wow! …and I always thought she was an actress.

    • @nellgwenn
      @nellgwenn 7 місяців тому +1

      I always thought Sylvia Sidney was the highest paid actress. I know Bette Davis held her in very high regard.

  • @jeffpagan7735
    @jeffpagan7735 8 місяців тому +9

    Barbara was a force of nature.

  • @jamesharper3933
    @jamesharper3933 8 місяців тому +6

    You asked what that was Walter Neff was speaking into. I believe that is called a Dictaphone. I love that stone cold look on Barbara Stanwyck's face as her husband is being strangled right next to her. Brilliant script, cinematography and acting. Considered one of the best film noirs ever. Nice reaction.

  • @Dej24601
    @Dej24601 8 місяців тому +8

    Perfect screenplay. Perfect casting. Perfect musical score. Considered the perfect definition of “film noir” and a classic that will always remain iconic.

  • @HuntingViolets
    @HuntingViolets 8 місяців тому +5

    Nice reaction! Keyes is great. Always a favorite movie since I was a kid.

  • @robertjewell9727
    @robertjewell9727 8 місяців тому +5

    Fantastic reaction. 👍 Edward G. Robinson who played Keyes is the best. I'm hoping you'll be watching him in a much different role in Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street.

    • @PolferiferusII
      @PolferiferusII 8 місяців тому +2

      Great movie with an amazing cast

  • @johnnehrich9601
    @johnnehrich9601 8 місяців тому +5

    My two favorite Billy Wilder movies are the 1957 Witness For The Prosecution, based on mystery queen Agatha Christie's story, and the 1961 One, Two, Three comedy.
    There have been two remakes of Witness, one a pretty much direct copy of Wilder's movie, not bad but not as good as his, and another based on the original story, not the play - ghastly. Great trial drama - I defy anyone to guess the ending.
    One, Two, Three is set in Berlin just before the Berlin wall was erected. It stars Jimmy Cagney, normally cast as a gangster. The movie is sort of set the Sabre Dance music - which you probably have heard, but not recognize the name. The movie is so fast-paced that Cagney had a hard time delivering his lines, so he actually gave up acting (so I've heard).
    Other notable films of his - Sunset Boulevard and Some Like It Hot.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому

      Awesome, I have them all on my list 😉. Oh, I've heard Sabre Dance. I can't remember it right now though 😂

  • @TedLittle-yp7uj
    @TedLittle-yp7uj 8 місяців тому +6

    You might want to check out Edward G. Robinson in an earlier role as "Little Caesar."

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому +1

      I'll add it to my list. Thanks for your suggestion! 😊

    • @billolsen4360
      @billolsen4360 8 місяців тому +3

      @@henryellow Robinson's movies never disappoint. Try out "The Woman In The Window" (1944) where he's the hero, then "Key Largo" (1948) and "The Ten Commandments" (1956) where he's the villain.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому

      Awesome 👍🏻
      I'll add those too. Thanks for your suggestions! 😊

  • @johnnehrich9601
    @johnnehrich9601 8 місяців тому +4

    I grew up with the tv sitcom My Three Sons with Fred MacMurray as the single father of - guess what - three sons. So I find it hard to see him in any villain role.

    • @haveanicedave1551
      @haveanicedave1551 8 місяців тому

      I was a kid and remember that show then Shaggy Dog. yes, it was weird seeing him in this role, but he was great.

    • @macroman52
      @macroman52 6 місяців тому +1

      I heard somewhere that MacMurray insisted the full scripts for the entire first year of My Three Sons be written before he came on set. Then he spent a week or two filming ALL of his scenes for the year - his scenes were generally sitting in an armchair giving wise advice to his sons. Get a different sweater or coat and do the next scene.

    • @johnnehrich9601
      @johnnehrich9601 6 місяців тому

      @@macroman52 Interesting. I don't really remember the show that much, other than the opening segment with the cartoon feet keeping time to the theme song.

  • @flibber123
    @flibber123 8 місяців тому +3

    That line at the end "Closer than that Walter" always gets me. Walter had his respect and trust and betrayed it like a dumbass. This is one of my favorite movies. I love the snappy dialogue.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому +1

      Exactly. Keyes trusted Walter enough to vouch for him. Yet, that trust was sadly misplaced.
      Agreed. I enjoyed the dialogue too (especially ones with Keyes).

  • @yvonnehernandez4996
    @yvonnehernandez4996 5 місяців тому +1

    Love this. I'm a classic movie lover and have seen this movie many times. Kudos for acknowledging Wilder. I just want to also acknowledge the Hollywood greats not mentioned. Barbara Stanwych (Evelyn) Fred Mac Murray (Walter) And the great Edward G. Robinson (Keys)

  • @commieRob
    @commieRob 8 місяців тому +4

    It's interesting that you noticed that the lines sound like they came from a book. This movie was actually changed dramatically from the original book by James m Cain. However, to help write the screenplay, Wilder got Raymond Chandler, a detective novelist and the creator of Philip Marlowe. Raymond Chandler, though, heated James m Caine's writing, once saying that he wrote like a horny billy goat, and he basically did the movie in an exact opposite style.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому +1

      "He wrote like a horny billy goat."
      What?? I'm picturing a horny billy goat in front of a typewriter, one hoof on his chin (thinking) and one hoof holding a cigarette 😂.

  • @Dej24601
    @Dej24601 8 місяців тому +4

    Wilder wrote the screenplay based on the Cain book with Raymond Chandler, who like Cain, was another writer of detective/mystery/murder stories. Wilder & Chandler had difficulties working together but Chandler does have a cameo as the man reading a magazine outside Keyes’ office.

  • @weighilln
    @weighilln 8 місяців тому +5

    An early Wilder film, one of the best in the film noir genre. Also applies to "Sunset Blvd". Wilder is best known for his later Rom Coms which are among the best rated of all time. "Sabrina" (1954), "Some like it Hot" (1959) and "The Apartment" (1960) were each written and directed by Billy Wilder.

  • @geraldmcboingboing7401
    @geraldmcboingboing7401 8 місяців тому +3

    Great reaction and analysis!! Billy Wilder made so many great films that it's sometimes difficult to pick the best one, because the best one is almost always the one you just watched. Ace in the Hole (1951) and Stalag 17 (1953) are two of my favorites. Maybe you could be the first reactor to watch all of his films.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому +1

      I have those two on my list already. It's a matter of time until I watch those two 😉👍🏻

  • @jeffbassin630
    @jeffbassin630 7 місяців тому +1

    I'm glad you liked this film. It's a classic and highly respected film noir!!

  • @ink-cow
    @ink-cow 8 місяців тому +1

    Weird trivia: The cartoonist who drew the original Captain Marvel (played by Zachary Levi in Shazam) modeled the character after Fred MacMurray. The resemblance is most clear in his first appearance in Whiz Comics #1. MacMurray was great at playing nice guys and despicable heavies. You might see him again in another great Billy Wilder film.
    Same can be said for Edward G. Robinson. Much better known for playing tough guy gangsters, and famously parodied in the Bugs Bunny cartoon Racketeer Rabbit: "It's curtains for you, Rocky!" "No, no! Not that! Aw, they're adorable!"
    Barbara Stanwyck became best known in the 1960's as the matriarch of the popular western TV series The Big Valley (112 episodes!)

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому

      Thanks for sharing these fun facts! 😊

  • @meganlutz7150
    @meganlutz7150 8 місяців тому +3

    I remember watching this as a kid and being a little scared of Phyllis. Especially the story about how she killed the first wife. Great reaction !

  • @anrun
    @anrun 8 місяців тому +4

    An interesting thing about Fred MacMurray is that in his long career he mostly played good guys but now the three movie roles he is best remembered for are all as heels.

    • @billolsen4360
      @billolsen4360 8 місяців тому +1

      "The Apartment" with Jack Lemmon & Shirley MacClaine and "The Cain Mutiny" with Humphrey Bogart & Jose Ferrer. Fred played wonderful heels.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому +1

      I do have The Apartment on my list. I guess I'll add The Caine Mutiny too 😉

  • @BigGator5
    @BigGator5 8 місяців тому +6

    "Do I laugh now, or wait 'til it gets funny?"
    Fun Fact: Theatrical movie debut of Mona Freeman.
    Art Imitates Life Fact: The scene where Neff (Fred MacMurray) and Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) can't get their car started after the murder was added by Billy Wilder after his car wouldn't start at the end of a shooting day.
    Blink And You'll Miss It Fact: In the first scene in which Walter (Fred MacMurray) first kisses Phyllis (Barbara Stanwyck), we see a wedding ring on Walter's hand. Fred MacMurray was married and the ring was not noticed until post-production.
    Code Violation Fact: In the scene where Phyllis (Barbara Stanwyck) is listening at Neff's (Fred MacMurray) door as he talks with Keyes (Edward G. Robinson), Keyes exits into the hallway and Phyllis hides behind the door. The door opens into the hallway which isn't allowed by building codes, even back then, but it does give Phyllis something to hide behind and increases the tension.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому +1

      The "car won't start" was a nice touch.
      Walter had a ring on his finger? Now I definitely missed that 😂
      I never thought about the door before. You're right, most doors open onwards rather than outwards.
      Thanks for the fun facts 😊

    • @BigGator5
      @BigGator5 8 місяців тому +2

      You're welcome!
      Go in Peace and Walk with God. 😎 👍

  • @johnnehrich9601
    @johnnehrich9601 8 місяців тому +3

    The movie starts with him talking into a dictaphone, which was basically the same type of phonograph, with wax cylinders as Edison's original invention. (The sound quality was much less on these machines as long as the voice was clear.)
    The idea being to have a secretary transcribe the message by typing it onto paper. (Machine did use "modern" electronics of the time to amplify the sound rather than the original giant horn.)

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому

      First time seeing a dictaphone. For a moment, it made me wonder what it was. Thanks for explaining 👍🏻

    • @johnnehrich9601
      @johnnehrich9601 8 місяців тому +1

      @@henryellow It is so interesting that there was a time in living memory of when executives had to employ OTHER people to translate their speech into typed words. (Also, when telegrapher operators were needed to translate other people's words into dots and dashes.) At some point, you might want to react to Nine To Five which perfectly documents, in a most comedic way, how business offices used to operate.

    • @johnnehrich9601
      @johnnehrich9601 8 місяців тому +1

      @@henryellow A dictaphone often played an important role in creating false alibis in older mystery stories. Could take a cylinder from when the boss was dictating and play it behind closed doors to give the impression the guy was there when it wasn't. Or someone could store up a bunch of cylinders over time, then claim they "prove" that someone was hard to work late into the evening.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому

      It is interesting to see how far we've come in terms of technology. Things are so much more convenient nowadays. It's even more interesting to think that, a hundred years from now, the technology today would be considered ancient tools 😂.
      Creating a false alibi with a dictaphone. People find creative ways to get away with a crime 😅.

    • @johnnehrich9601
      @johnnehrich9601 8 місяців тому +1

      @@henryellow I think the Back to the Future trilogy is so interesting. In the first one, he goes from 1985 (when the movie was made) to 1955, and boy, they get every nuance of the differences spot on. In the second, he goes the same 30 years into the future, which is 2015. Their idea of the future is so completely ridiculous, as are all the other people's predictions.
      Around 1915, they used to take a picture of some village main street, and draw on things what they thought would happen - there would be an entrance down to a theoretical subway a couple of 100 miles long. Overhead were strange flying machines like bikes with bat wings, and zeppelin balloons. They envisage flight but they though people would flit from roof top to roof top, never realizing taking to the air in an airplane meant incredible speeds.

  • @HuntingViolets
    @HuntingViolets 8 місяців тому +3

    I kind of like the idea of Walter dying on the floor there with Keyes next to him. There was a deleted scene where he goes to the gas chamber. Since that wasn't included, we can choose for ourselves.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому +1

      The end result would be the same. He could not escape death (and his crime). Walter and Phyllis rode the trolley straight down the end of the line after all. The last stop, the cemetery.

    • @HuntingViolets
      @HuntingViolets 8 місяців тому +1

      @@henryellow Definitely. That's the end, one way or another.

  • @billolsen4360
    @billolsen4360 8 місяців тому +1

    1:30 By law, hospitals have to report all gunshot wounds, stab wounds, beatings, etc. to the police.

  • @bluefriend62
    @bluefriend62 8 місяців тому +1

    Another great reaction to a classic, Henry!

  • @jwoodard29
    @jwoodard29 8 місяців тому +2

    Nice reaction to a classic Noir. So many other film noirs to choose from. I recommend an overlooked great neo-noir called "Brick" from 2005, set in a California high school. It features an unforgettable femme fatale.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому +1

      I'll add that to my movies list. Thanks for your suggestion! 😊

  • @johnnehrich9601
    @johnnehrich9601 8 місяців тому +3

    Insurance investigations are a lot different than police investigations. Police have certain powers and also held back by other laws, like needing a search warrant to enter a premise. The two agencies sometimes did work together, utilizing the powers of each entity.
    However, the most important thing is that insurance investigations do not require convincing a jury of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The insurance company decides if there is fraud and therefore refuse to pay, and the only recourse is for the other side to sue, where it is only a preponderance of evidence, more likely than not, 51.1% for the one side to win.
    For instance, the guy on the train only needs to be asked what happened by the insurance people - he didn't need to be sworn in and he didn't need to stand up to cross-examination, which can undercut his testimony and make it look weak.
    In other words, the insurance company has a much MUCH lower burden of proof in order to prevail - because lawsuits like this are civil, not criminal.
    Of course, in this case, the insurance investigation was stronger because that is what the plot required.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому

      The insurance company and police working together would be terrifying indeed. They can leverage on each other's advantages to take down the "criminal".
      Thanks for sharing! 😊

    • @johnnehrich9601
      @johnnehrich9601 8 місяців тому

      @@henryellow I searched on Google:
      Books with the subject: Insurance Investigators
      and they listed about a dozen. Not only could a story have the insurance company investigating with their own people, but they could and did hire private investigators, "PI's," "private detectives/dicks," "gumshoes," to work on their behalf. So a Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poroit could be detecting on behalf of insurance companies instead of the police. (And private detectives, too, were outside the advantages and limits of official law departments.

  • @ericpeck3069
    @ericpeck3069 5 місяців тому +1

    I enjoy your reactions. You are pretty good at anticipating what's going to happen in these movies.

  • @barrycroucher602
    @barrycroucher602 5 місяців тому +1

    Brilliant observation and summary !

  • @beansfriend7033
    @beansfriend7033 3 місяці тому +1

    Hi, Henry. I really enjoyed this reaction to one of film's most classic "noir" movies.
    Since you mentioned Fritz Lang, have you done _M_ yet (from 1931)? I didn't see it but may have missed it. If not, it might be a good option to release in October - it's not "spooky" in the sense that so many reactors normally define "spooky season" here in the US, but I think it's psychologically haunting with the questions it asks the audience to consider. (It's also a brilliant film, which goes without saying.)
    Keep up the great choices!

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  3 місяці тому

      I'm happy to hear that! 😊
      Yes, I watched "M" some time ago. It may be hard to search due to the short title. Just go to my Fritz Lang playlist and you'll see it 👍🏻

  • @jamesharper3933
    @jamesharper3933 8 місяців тому +2

    One other thing, if you noticed Phyllis always calls him Walter but he always calls her baby.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому

      I didn't realize that. I suppose that reveals how she really felt. She had no love for Walter at all. She admitted it herself at the end.

  • @flarrfan
    @flarrfan 8 місяців тому +2

    My favorite Wilder films are Sunset Blvd., Some Like It Hot, and The Apartment. I think you've seen the first two? The Apartment won Best Picture for 1960 and is a delightful film. Fred McMurray makes another appearance, too. All his films are good, but his adaptations, like Double Indemnity and Stalag 17, I rate lower just because they aren't originals. Stalag 17 is mostly just a filmed play. Great Escape and Bridge on the River Kwai are far superior POW movies. You mentioned Fritz Lang. His greatest films are the silent granddaddy of sci-fi, Metropolis, and the magnificent M with a masterful performance by Peter Lorre (Ugarte from Casablanca).

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому

      I'll add Great Escape to my movies list too. As for the rest, I've got them on my list 👍🏻
      Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 😊

  • @HuntingViolets
    @HuntingViolets 8 місяців тому +2

    The movie improves on the novel in a lot of ways. Cain particularly admired the part where Phyllis shows up while Keyes is at Neff's apartment and she has to hide behind the door.

  • @jameshose5043
    @jameshose5043 8 місяців тому +1

    another great vid thx

  • @macroman52
    @macroman52 6 місяців тому +1

    Not only is the autopsy/broken neck/strangulation a problem, but what about fingerprints on the crutches? Matching no one in her house or the place where they got the crutches - suspicious?

  • @Jeff_Lichtman
    @Jeff_Lichtman 8 місяців тому +2

    The story was based on a real murder that happened in 1927. Another movie, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), is based on the same murder. In my opinion, Double Indemnity is the better film, though there are things I like about Postman.
    Other Billy Wilder movies to react to:
    Sunset Blvd.
    Witness for the Prosecution
    Some Like It Hot
    The Apartment

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  8 місяців тому

      You can find my reaction to Some Like It Hot in my channel 😉
      Thanks for sharing the fun fact! 😊

  • @jtt6650
    @jtt6650 8 місяців тому +2

    DEE drick sun

  • @sheehan92
    @sheehan92 6 місяців тому +1

    Please do China Moon (1994) and Body Heat (1981) with similar story lines.

    • @henryellow
      @henryellow  6 місяців тому

      I'll add them to my list. Thanks for your suggestions 😊

  • @BlueShadow777
    @BlueShadow777 8 місяців тому +2

    The reason you’re having trouble pronouncing the name is that you’re trying to pronounce it ‘DietrISH-son’, when in fact the correct pronunciation is “DietrICK-son” 🤷🏻‍♂️