[.ca] Double Indemnity (ISBN 0679723226)

From Amazon.com:
When smalltime insurance salesman Walter Huff meets seductive Phyllis Nirdlinger, the wife of one of his wealthy clients, it takes him only minutes to determine that she wants to get rid of her husband--and not much longer to decide to help her do it. Walter knows that accident insurance pays double indemnity on railroad mishaps, so he and Phyllis plot frantically to get Nirdlinger on--and off--a train without arousing the suspicions of the police, the insurance company, Nirdlinger's dishy daughter, her mysterious boyfriend, or Nirdlinger himself. This brief but complex novel is a perfect example of the ordinary-guy-gone-disastrously-wrong story that Cain always pulls off brilliantly.

big crime, little book:
'Double Indemnity' by James Cain is about a big time insurance fraud involving murder. The story takes place in 1920s Los Angeles with the criminals being an insurance agent and a beautiful, wealthy wife. Sounds trite? In a sense it is, but the actual crime is very clever. And James Cain milks the suspense wonderfully. Unfortunately the books is very short, with the author skipping out on the details (background) of the main characters and their motivation for the dirty deed. At times the book felt like a Reader's Digest version of a full novel. Yet 'Double Indemnity' is a fine read. Not on par with the author's best ('Mildred Pierce', 'The Postman Always Rings Twice') but still among the better in the genre.

Murder will out every time:
James M. Cain's reputation as a master of the noir genre rests largely on his phenomenally grim 1934 story "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and this short tale, the 1935 classic "Double Indemnity." No other noir writer's reputation-whether Raymond Chandler, Dashell Hammett, or Cornell Woolrich-rests on only two stories. Well, you could throw in "Mildred Pierce" as another Cain classic, but that still leaves only three bleak yarns worth mentioning. How is it possible to sustain a literary legacy based on two, maybe three, stories that you could read in three single sittings? Think movies. You can thank Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler for Cain's enduring legacy. These two guys collaborated on the script for "Double Indemnity" the film, a film that has since become one of the classics of American cinema. And don't forget Joan Crawford won an Oscar for her work in the screen version of "Mildred Pierce." Too, if memory serves correctly, there are two film versions of "The Postman Always Rings Twice," one of them starring Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange. If I were a writer, I wouldn't be too enthusiastic that my legacy rested on film versions of my stories. From what I've read of the noir masters, Cain isn't nearly as good of a storyteller as Chandler, Hammett, or Woolrich. He isn't as good as Jim Thompson or David Goodis either, for that matter. "Double Indemnity" tells the disastrous story of one Walter Huff. An insurance salesman working a route in California in the 1930s, Huff spends his days trying to get clients to increase their insurance holdings. His life changes for the worse when he calls on a household where he falls under the poisonous charms of Phyllis Nirdlinger, the wife of a wealthy oil executive. When this woman inquires about procuring an accident policy for her husband in case he "happens to have an accident" while inspecting oil wells, Huff knows something is up. In his business, no one approaches an agent about buying accident insurance unless there's a nefarious murder plot in the works. At first repelled by Phyllis's roundabout suggestions to dispatch her husband, he soon falls in line with the plot by insuring her husband with a double indemnity accident policy that will pay tens of thousands of dollars in case the poor chap expires in a railway mishap. What follows is noir carried to the nth degree, as both Huff and his new girlfriend hatch the plot in minute detail. The insurance agent plans his alibi with the sort of meticulous attention one would associate with a master criminal. He coaches Phyllis on the finer points of speaking to the police, dealing with inquests, and interacting with the insurance agency. She'll need all the help she can get because Huff knows that the head of the claims department, Keyes, is one tough bulldog when it comes to investigating scams. The actual crime, which involves Huff playing a central role in the murder, is a foul play masterpiece. No one should ever take a fall in this expertly carried out misdeed, but in James Cain's world murder will out every time. In no time at all, Keyes and the president of the insurance company balk at paying out a huge claim. After bandying around the idea that Nirdlinger took his own life, Keyes arrives at a suspicion of foul play. This conclusion sets in motion a whole host of maneuvers requiring Huff to take greater and greater measures to keep the whole thing under wraps. Complicating things are Lola, Phyllis's stepdaughter, and her boyfriend Nino Sachetti. Up until the explosive revelations preceding the conclusion, Huff still looks like he will get away with the wicked deed. The crime is brilliant with one huge exception: Walter Huff, insurance agent and murderer, forgot to investigate Phyllis Nirdlinger's background. If he had, Huff probably would never have jumped into this mess with both feet. Oops. "Double Indemnity" the book isn't nearly as good as "The Postman Always Rings Twice." I had several problems with the story, the biggest being Keyes's quick analysis of what really happened to Phyllis's husband. No one, neither the police nor an insurance claims investigator, could figure this crime out with the ease that Keyes does. Another difficulty with the story is the conclusion. Once everything shakes out, I simply didn't buy what happened to Phyllis and Huff. Too, it just isn't a satisfying conclusion for a noir story. I also had a problem with Walter's sudden change of heart after he removed Nirdlinger from the scene. Here's a guy who is cool and collected, a guy who delivers a lengthy speech about how to commit a coldhearted murder without getting caught and why he is willing to rip-off the insurance company, and then he turns into a nervous nelly after the crime. It is conceivable that this could happen, but it didn't work here. Despite these problems, noir fans will want to spend a few hours with "Double Indemnity." The book is exceedingly short, the story moves at a lightening fast clip, and the characters are interesting. After reading the book, make sure to check out the film versions of "Double Indemnity," "Mildred Pierce," and "The Postman Always Rings Twice." Then spend even more of your time reading Chandler, Woolrich (especially Woolrich), and Hammett. As someone who has read a fair share of noir novels, I think you will like these other three authors more than you will like Cain. I shall give "Double Indemnity" four stars because most of the book works, but it's definitely a lesser entry in the noir canon.

Excellent Crime Noir Novella:
Walter Huff is a pretty decent and basically honest insurance salesman, until he meets Phyllis Nirdlinger, the wife of a successful California businessman. Phyllis isn't the most attractive woman, but she's a true seductress. Huff immediately knows that Phyllis will be trouble, but he can't resist her, and she quickly involves him in a plot to kill her husband. Things become even more complicated when Phyllis' step-daughter, Lola, enters the scene and bonds with Huff. James M. Cain is one of the indisputable greats of crime noir novels, and he also wrote the terrific "The Postman Always Rings Twice." The plot is fast-moving, and I love Cain's stattaco writing style. He also includes so much great detail, such as the "blood red curtains" in Phyllis' living room. Further, Cain makes the action very believable and doesn't overlook any plot holes, which is not always the case in this genre. I really liked this book. Having said that, I think that the movie (1944, directed by the peerless Billy Wilder) is even better than the book. I know that's blasphemous, but the movie is one of the all-time great American movies. Read the book and don't miss the movie either!

A KILLER PLOT...:
This book, more novella than novel, is intricately plotted and a very quick read. Wholly plot-driven, the book is a classic morality tale. A seductive woman, Phyllis Nirdlinger, desires to kill her wealthy husband. An otherwise intelligent insurance agent, Walter Huff, falls under her spell. Together they put together a seemingly failsafe plan to do the dastardly deed, making it appear as if it were an accident, so that the double indemnity clause in an insurance policy will kick into play. The problem is that all is not as it initially seems. Written as a first person narrative by the insurance agent, the writing is tight, spare, and lean. No word is wasted. Yet, the minimalism works to the advantage of the story, as it makes the intricacy of the plotting clear to the reader. Having seen the film with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in the lead roles, I kept hearing Fred MacMurray's voice in my head as I read the book. While the film deviates from the book in a number of ways, it is classic film noir at its best and well-worth viewing. Likewise, the book is a classic in its own right, and those who like hard-boiled crime fiction will not be disappointed.

Historically Correct - Based on 1920's murder:
In many of the reviews for Double Indemnity, you will find it called a novel or a fiction piece. In reality, James Cain wrote Double Indemnity about the 1920's murder case of Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray, who together killed Snyder's wealthy husband. Billy Wilder made it into a film and a broadway play. Richard Schiekel also wrote a mystery based on the story. Snyder's trip to the electric chair was one of the most famous executions of the century, because a photographer strapped a camera to his ankle and photographed Ruth Snyder in the chair as the current surged through her body. It then was published on the front of The New York Daily News and became a most famous photo of the decade.