The MoFo Top 100 of the Forties: The Countdown

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I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe

Double Indemnity was very high on my list. In hindsight it should have been number 2 as opposed to my number 4.

If there's something I'm gonna complain about in this thread, it's this.

Ridiculous. Halloween is supposed to only be celebrated on the night of October 31st!

Thought it would be a little higher. Double Indemnity was my #10. It's my favourite Wilder and has my favourite femme fatale.

Seen: 53/95
My List:

01.
02. Letter From An Unknown Woman
03. The Shop Around The Corner
04. How Green Was My Valley
05. Notorious
06. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
07. His Girl Friday
08.
09. Rebecca
10. Double Indemnity
11.
12. Laura
13. Bambi
14. Day of Wrath
15. My Darling Clementine
16. Shadow of a Doubt
17. Meet Me In St. Louis
18. Red River
19.
20. Nightmare Alley
21.
22.
23. The Philadelphia Story
24. Pinocchio
25.

No way is Maltese Falcon better than Double Indemnity!!!!

Pretty sure Indemnity was my 3.

It has been on the Sunday afternoon before Halloween for years. My whole lifetime, for sure. It never bothered me. I always kind of liked getting done for the day and having the whole night to go through the candy.

The only time it is on Halloween here is if the holiday falls on a Sunday. But in that case, if it falls on a Saturday, trick-or-treat will be on that Saturday instead of a Sunday.

They are close for me but Falcon is fantastic too, not as if it's Rope we're talking about

I ended up having Double Indemnity as my #10. I didn't even care for it the first time I saw it, but thankfully it was nominated for a Hall of Fame and I watched it again.

My list-

#2 Children of Paradise (30)
#3 How Green Was My Valley (40)
#4 The Ox-Bow Incident (39)
#5 Letter From an Unknown Woman (28)
#6 The Little Foxes (43)
#7 Brief Encounter (21)
#8 Late Spring (25)
#9 My Darling Clementine (58)
#10 Double Indemnity (6)
#11 White Heat (42)
#12 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (31)
#14 Kind Hearts and Coronets (26)
#15 Scarlet Street (73)
#17 The Grapes of Wrath (13)
#19 The Devil and Daniel Webster (46)
#20 Mildred Pierce (45)
#21 Key Largo (77)
#22 Red River (56)
#23 The Best Years of Our Lives (16)
#24 Pride of the Yankees (59)
#25 Sergeant York (50)

It's the same here. Didn't know it was like that by you.

It kind of interesting just seeing how different it is in the immediate surrounding areas. Some of the suburbs do it at the same time, some will be later tonight (a couple were yesterday and Friday already), but then there are those few that will wait until Halloween itself.

I know it's probably more because they're trying to make it a weekend thing (though, I don't know about everywhere), but it sounds like people are just afraid to celebrate Halloween on Halloween. Like it's "the evil day" or something.

You won't see all the stores and everything closing on December 19th to celebrate Christmas. Though families often celebrate Christmas on different days, Christmas is still Christmas, December 25th.

I should revisit Treasure of Sierra Madre because it's been far too long since I've last seen it. Only thing I can remember is that I was impressed with Bogart's peformance and his slow descent to madness in the film.

Double Indemnity is a slightly above-average noir.
Maltese Falcon is the only remaining film deservant of the top spot though I wouldn't mind seeing It's A Wonderful Life take it.

Double Indemnity would have almost certainly been somewhere on my list had I made one.

Double Indemnity was #21 on my list. It easily could have been much higher, but I have so many 40s films that I love. Still I'm thrilled to see it so high

This is an excerpt from my review:

Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)

Double Indemnity is the quintessential Film Noir. It has all of the noir elements: the 'average Joe' being lead into a dangerous situation by a femme fatale, the sense of doomed characters rushing towards a fatalistic climax...all wrapped in a potent story. The story is driven by lust, greed, self motivation and a serious lack of morals.

Director Billy Wilder co-wrote this provocative script with famed novelist Raymond Chandler...basing their work on the novel Double Indemnity by James Cain. This isn't an artsy film or a movie with deep underlying themes. What you see is what you get.

Fred MacMurray who almost always played light comic roles really nails his performance. He's completely believable as the self assured, womanizing, fast talking salesman with an eye for the ladies and a good time. When he locks his eyes on Phyllis we know why he agrees to bump off her husband.

Barbara Stanwyck is the other part of this duo. She too is utterly believable as the cheap, sexy, amoral Phyllis. She looks easy in her cheap blonde wig. From her ankle bracelet to her huge gaudy finger ring and her loud clothes, she looks and acts the part.

Edward G Robinson is the perfect balance to the story idea of an insurance murder plot. He adds the voice of reason and respect. He too is extremely good in his role.

Double Indemnity has such a strong story with gutsy characters that it's easy to overlook the skill and beauty of the cinematography. The use of select lighting in otherwise dark scenes is sublime. The shadows seem to embrace the actors. The composition and layout of the shots makes this film beautiful as well as provocative.

+

a solid noir that didn't make the list, surprisingly. It may have gotten knocked by a new favorite most likely.



Double Indemnity


Considered a MUST SEE for anyone who enjoys noir films this was co-written by a decective-story great, and creator of Philip Marlowe; Raymond Chandler, and his style of colorful penmanship is all over this film.
The other writer? None other than Billy Wilder.

This film has all the usual pieces to a clever scam going to hell. With a femme fatale; Barbara Stanwyck, whom I really love when she plays it tough. When she plays the nervous/scared damsel it doesn't seem real. Or perhaps that's the point, since it's all a charade anyway. One you can see on multiple scenes when she watches Murray's character walk away; and if you know what you're looking for, you do see behind the mask. Though she does hide it VERY well.
She truly shined in the final confrontation. Sitting coldly on the sofa as things fell apart between her and Murray and the tension was very well done.

As for Murray, he played the sucker perfectly. Making the plays and the orchestrating the plans without the slightest clue he was the one being used. Though I must say I never had any sympathy for him, while I did enjoy him trying to play it cool.
But I really think that has to do with the bias of being so used to him playing Walt Disney films when I was a kid; like Flubber and Shaggy D.A. Never mind the sitcom; My Three Sons. So any time I ever watched this, those characters always stuck in my head.

The final character, Murray's boss played with his usual excellence is my man Edward G Robinson. I think some of my favorite scenes included Murray and Robinson; especially the closing scene of this movie.



Seen: 65/95

My List:
#1 Top 3
#2 Top 3
#3 Top 5
#4 Arsenic and Old Lace (18)
#5 Top 5-10
#6 The Big Sleep (22)
#7 Laura (12)
#8 Ain't gonna happen but a longtime favorite
#9 The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (33)
#10 should show up in the next 2 or so
#11 whoulda coulda shoulda
#12 Odd Man Out (55)
#13 The Great Dictator (11)
#14 Pinocchio (23)
#15 Kind Hearts and Coronets (26)
#16 Now, Voyager (78)
#17 The Suspect (70)
#18 Waterloo Bridge (93)
#19 A new favorite, don't see it making it and it isn't
#20 highly doubted it was gonna make the list
#21 The Pride of the Yankees (59)
#22 Little Foxes (43)
#23 Can't believe this DIDN'T make the list at ALL
#24 Gilda (72)
#25 Arch of Triumph (1 Pointer)

It was changed to daytime in my city due to a child abduction and killing in the 70s on Halloween night.

I wonder if your NO.23 is the same film as my NO.14. I thought it was a surefire top 50, but it looks like it won't make the list at all.

as far as the Halloween bit I am a bit disgusted when they started doing it earlier, like 4 in the afternoon. Hell, on a week day people weren't even home from work yet! Kinda screws the kids for getting any decent amount of candy. And Trick or Treating IS a night thing, NOT a day thing!
And they started moving it to BEFORE the actual day?!?!
screw that

I remember the nonsense of "there's razor blades in the apples!! DON'T EAT THEM!" and that psychos were injecting poison into candy bars and the like in the 70s when I was a kid. HOW do you hide a razor blade in an apple without there being a decent size slice in it?!? It was silly, but we did have fun whipping the apples into telephone poles and watching them splatter and then mom and dad would rifle through the candy, checking for pin-sized holes before we pigged out.

All of it goes right along the lines with not keeping score in sports games for kids and everyone gets a trophy for participating.


okay, I'm done ranting now

Dylan Baker gives an overweight kid razor blade candy in Trick 'r Treat, he's a principal in it haha.

yeah, that was a reference to that very same "scare".