James M. Cain
Paperback | Pages: 115 pages Rating: 4.11 | 18129 Users | 1066 Reviews
Mention Books Toward Double Indemnity
| Original Title: | Double Indemnity |
| ISBN: | 0679723226 (ISBN13: 9780679723226) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Walter Huff, Phyllis Nirdlinger, Barton Keyes |
Ilustration Concering Books Double Indemnity
“I had killed a man, for money and a woman. I didn't have the money and I didn't have the woman.” One of the great Noir lines of all time. Cain wrote it. Raymond Chandler used it in the movie. I could stop my review right here because that line sums up the movie perfectly. But I can't. I love writing about books. Walter Huff met a woman. A married woman, a woman Huff would be willing to turn himself inside out if that would insure her love. Her name is Phyllis and she has a thought, not even a plan, just a thought of what she would like to do about her husband.
Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck
Much has been made of Phyllis being a femme fatale, maybe even one of the most viperous examples in history. It has been a while since I've seen the movie and maybe Stanwyck does portray Phyllis much more deviously manipulative than what I found the book Phyllis to be. Now I'm not saying she is an angel I'm just saying she ran into a guy that even surprised himself with what he was willing to do with the hope of getting the girl.
Huff has made a career out of reading people and when he meets Phyllis she asks him a handful of suggestive questions and the guy is already formulating a full blown plan for insurance fraud. He has been in the insurance game for a long time and he knows about every angle ever thought up by anyone to try and pull one over on an insurance company. He is uniquely qualified to formulate the perfect scam.
I don't like insurance. Life insurance they are betting I live. I'm betting I die. It is kind of crazy if you give it much thought. Car insurance they are betting I don't get in an accident. I'm betting that I do. The industry has convinced us to bet against ourselves and pay for the privilege. And yet, even though I'm aware of the situation, I pay thousands of dollars of insurance premiums every year to insure one disaster doesn't sink the ship. Walter Huff would love stopping by to see me.
Huff is so intent on the details of this insurance rip-off that he never learns much about Phyllis. He doesn't even really seem to care about why she would be interested in killing her husband. She is the bunny and he is the greyhound running around the track. There is no hesitation about Huff. He leaps at the chance to help Phyllis get the insurance money. I'm not sure what was more important to him pulling off the perfect swindle (my vote)or winning the girl.
James M. Cain
Crisp, wonderful writing with pitch perfect dialogue. My recommendation is read the book and then watch the movie, a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. At least 18 films have been made from James M. Cain novels and stories. Besides this novel he wrote two other novels that are not only considered noir fiction classics, but also translated well to film, The Postman Always Rings Twiceand Mildred Pierce. In college I took a film and novel class and Mildred Pierce was one of the books/movies on the syllabus. One of the most enjoyable classes I ever took. I love the combination of two different art forms. I generally like the book better because there is usually more depth to the characters and more subplots can be incorporated into the flow of the novel. Film is restricted by length, but when they get it right they really get it right. I try, as best I can, to judge books and movies from books on separate scales. Even a movie that butchers the original source material can be a great movie. In the case of James M. Cain because he wrote such great dialogue Hollywood did not have to deviate far from his original intentions. Highly recommended!
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| Title | : | Double Indemnity |
| Author | : | James M. Cain |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 115 pages |
| Published | : | May 14th 1989 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard (first published 1936) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Mystery. Noir. Crime. Classics. Thriller |
Rating Appertaining To Books Double Indemnity
Ratings: 4.11 From 18129 Users | 1066 ReviewsNotice Appertaining To Books Double Indemnity
My god, the utter callousness of it all!It's not too spoilery to give you a summary of the book, however, if you intend to read Double Indemnity, I'd suggest not reading the next two sentences. SUMMARY: A woman consults an insurance agent about taking out a special kind of insurance on her husband, the kind which sends up red flags for the agent, red flags which he ignores. Seduced by the woman and greed, the insurance agent helps her commit murder. The flippant way in which human life isDigital audiobook performed by James NaughtonWalter Huff is an insurance agent who heads out to a Spanish mansion in the hills above Los Angeles to renew and hopefully upgrade an automobile policy for Mr Nirdlinger. The client is not at home, and Mrs Nirdlinger asks Huff to return the next night, but before he leaves she also asks about accident insurance. Huff knows the woman is trouble with a capital T but he lets himself get reeled in and before you know it Cain is a master of the roman
There's a reason this is a classic and has stood the test of time, and you only have to read the first few pages to fully understand why. It all starts with a delicious chill up your spine, your eyeballs riveted to the page, your breath held, the "gotta know what happens next" monster rattling the bars of his cage. Your first thought: Strap on baby, this is gonna be g-oooodCain is a MASTER storyteller: his cutthroat instincts for plot and pacing unerring and enviable. His ear for dialogue is
This is a very short and very quick read. Walter Neff, an insurance salesman, and Phyllis Nardlinger, a femme fatale housewife, plan the perfect murder of Phyllis' husband where they will collect double indemnity from a recently purchased insurance policy. The book is tightly written with a first person narrative by Walter Neff. The murder plans are intricately plotted and cleverly inventive. Will they get away with the murder after they begin to mistrust one another? I suggest you read this
OMG! I cannot believe the ending! Plain old downright great entertainment here from beginning to end with Cain's story of how to commit the perfect murder. While I was totally engrossed in the telling, there were a couple of times I had to stretch my imagination a bit, but I loved it just the same, and oh that ending......raised my rating up a whole star!
To be honest with you, this book wasn't even on my radar. I was having lunch with someone when we got around to talking about my love for Crime Mystery Fiction and they suggested this as their favorite of those type books. Lo and behold, they have a copy of it and I read it that very day. At only a little over 100 pages, it's easy to read and the fast-pace of it makes it all fly by. Oh, and not to mention that it really is that good! Double Indemnity is about an insurance salesman who meets a
A day in the life of an insurance salesman, who looks for some extra bucks and meets a woman who wants to make more than just a few bucks. He thinks he knows all the tricks and has a plan, will it work? Hard boiled noir style thriller really keeps you wanting to see how the plan unfolds. "All right, I'm an agent. I'm a croupier in that game. I know all their tricks, I lie awake nights thinking up tricks, so I'll be ready for them when they come at me. And then one night I think up a trick, and
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