--- title: "Double Indemnity: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/double-indemnity/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/double-indemnity" critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Double Indemnity (1944): what the critics said Critics' score 82 from 14 reviews: 13 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics regard Double Indemnity as a defining film noir, with praise concentrated on its sharp dialogue, suspenseful plotting and unsentimental treatment of desire and deception. The reviews repeatedly single out Barbara Stanwyck’s calculating performance, Fred MacMurray’s work and Edward G. Robinson’s supporting role, with particular affection for the Robinson–MacMurray relationship. Billy Wilder’s direction also draws praise for sustaining tension, while several critics find caustic humour in the characters’ verbal sparring. The spread is wide, though dissent is isolated rather than evidence of an even split. The New York Times admires the performances but finds the pace monotonous and the film long. The New Yorker questions how convincingly the protagonist’s crime is motivated. Slant Magazine offers the clearest rejection, finding the images drab, the story joyless and the leads short of chemistry, while still enjoying Robinson and parts of the dialogue and construction. ## Radio Times — Tony Sloman Rating 5/5. This is one of the best-loved examples of film noir, with tight sexual tension and masterful visualisation of key plot points. The crackling screenplay and strong dialogue stand out as highlights. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-o1xjrb/double-indemnity/) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The critic hails Double Indemnity as near-perfect, singling out Barbara Stanwyck's iconic, calculating femme fatale performance and the powerful reaction shot after the murder as one of cinema's greatest. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/golden-oldie-double-indemnity-7434139.html) ## The AV Club — Noel Murray Rating A-. 13 September 2006. Notes the film's hard-boiled dialogue, gallows humor and fatalism while acknowledging its slightly ridiculous nature. Highlights the strong performances and the way the characters' relationships are built on conversational one-upmanship. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/double-indemnity-1798201966) ## The Guardian — Philip French Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 July 2012. The film is a hard-boiled thriller that helped define film noir, greatly improving on Cain's novel with crackling dialogue and an amoral Los Angeles setting. The performances by Robinson, MacMurray and Stanwyck are standout, approaching perfection in their total absence of sentimentality. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/jul/29/philip-french-classic-film-double-indemnity) ## The Hollywood Reporter — THR Staff Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 24 April 2017. Praises the bold, unglossed story of murderers as hero and heroine and the crisp, literate dialogue from the Cain source. Singles out the three lead performances, especially Robinson's, and the suspenseful plotting for high praise. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/double-indemnity-review-1944-movie-996685/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2005. The critic calls the film a bitter, brilliant noir re-issued in splendid form, praising its sharp script co-written by Wilder and Chandler that improves on the Cain novella with a rich voice-over narration and the Robinson-MacMurray relationship. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/film-studies-the-talk-is-lust-the-game-is-murder-514327.html) ## Variety — Kahn Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 April 1944. The review deems it an absorbing melodrama with certain boxoffice insurance thanks to the cast and direction, praising the suspenseful storytelling, strong performances from the leads, and grade A production values. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1944/film/reviews/double-indemnity-2-1200414382/) ## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 7 September 1944. The critic finds it a tough, diverting melodrama of cool deception and psychological crackup, praising the realistic direction and strong performances, especially Edward G. Robinson, while noting the monotonous pace and length. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1944/09/07/archives/the-screen-double-indemnity-a-tough-melodrama-with-stanwyck-and.html) ## The New Yorker — John Lardner Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 9 September 1944. The critic calls it a pretty good murder melodrama that treats the insurance industry unusually, praising Edward G. Robinson as the standout and the smooth account of sordid minds, but notes a weakness in making the protagonist's crime credible. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1944/09/16/1944-09-16-053-tny-cards-000013810) ## Slant Magazine — Dan Callahan Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 23 August 2006. Finds the film visually drab and its tale of murder unlayered and joyless, with little chemistry between the leads. Praises Robinson's supporting work and some pleasures in the dialogue and construction but deems it overrated. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/double-indemnity/) ## Empire — Rob Fraser 1 January 2000. The critic labels it a hard-boiled masterpiece and template of film noir, praising Wilder's direction, the Chandler-Cain script hybrid, and especially Barbara Stanwyck's iconic, calculating femme fatale performance. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/double-indemnity-review/) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating A+. 27 March 2012. The review hails the film as hugely influential, highly involving cinematic crack that is endlessly rewatchable and one of the best American movies ever made. It singles out the tight plot, expressionist lighting, and artful suspense-building, especially the off-camera murder scene focused on Stanwyck's face. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/the-films-of-billy-wilder-a-retrospective-20120327/) ## Collider — Zach Laws Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 18 August 2024. The critic lauds how the film explores dark desires and blurs morality, allowing audiences to identify with the flawed characters, and credits Wilder with defining film noir through cynical worldview and visual style. [Read the review](https://collider.com/double-indemnity-1944-movie/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 August 2005. The critic calls the film a sizzling and sassy thriller that still holds up against modern effects-driven movies. They single out the sharp screenplay and direction, along with the sparkling performances from MacMurray, Stanwyck, and Robinson. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/double-indemnity-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## Paste — Hafsah Abbasi Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 11 July 2024. The critic praises the film's enduring appeal despite modern preferences for naturalism, highlighting Barbara Stanwyck’s iconic femme fatale performance and Billy Wilder’s caustic humor and intricate narrative style. They note how the film explores the characters' culpability and malaise in middle-class life, making it more than a simple thriller. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/film-noir/double-indemnity-film-noir-billy-wilder-barbara-stanwyck) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/double-indemnity.md