An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.
I have it on good authority that James M. Cain turned over in his grave when this haphazard rendering of his novella DOUBLE INDEMNITY emanated from the boob tube in the early 1970s. Double Indemnity had two different scripted endings: one of which was filmed, another which never made it past the scripting phase. Who knows? Comedy Scene after scene, I found myself comparing what I was looking at it, and remembering how it played out with Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson and others. With Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Byron Barr. Watch the Original with the same title from 1944! 4 out of 21 found this helpful. By 1973, everyone had seen DOUBLE INDEMNITY in repertory houses or on television — if not in its original theatrical release — and the characters portrayed by Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson were so indelible that any other actors in their roles, even good ones, would look like phonies. As a big fan of the original film, it's hard to watch this show. Unlike the sizzle you could see and practically feel between MacMurray and Stanwyck in the original, the chemistry between dumb ol' Dicky Crenna and whats-her-face here is just non-existent. And she doesn't "come out"; she appears, almost as if by magic. During a high profile Mafia testimony case in California's Riverside County, a hired killer checks-in a hotel room near the courthouse while his next door depressed neighbor wants to commit suicide due to marital problems.
7 out of 9 found this helpful. Proceed with caution, obviously.
What's left is a very faithful representation of…There's simply no excuse for this remake to even exist. It was a remake of Double Indemnity (1944) based on the film rather than the original novel.
Absolutely recommended in all departments this is yet another TV Movie that is hugely well made and exceeds the efforts of a cinema release. Take Billy Wilder's amazing 1944 adaptation of Double Indemnity and then sap out all the blood. Such a provision is usually financed through the payment of higher premiums than those paid for a policy that entitles a beneficiary to recover only the face amount of the policy, regardless of how the insured died.In cases where the cause of death is unclear, the insurance company need not pay the proceeds until the accidental nature of death is sufficiently established by a All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. The original 1944 film noir rocks, but the remake sinks like a stone. Walter accuses her of planning to kill her husband. Stanwyck is much higher than Neff (Fred MacMurray) when they are first introduced. This, folks, again, all takes place in the first 16 and a half minutes. And I thought I'd be SICK when they have a mortified-looking (and rightly so, believe you me) Lee J. Cobb as Keyes practically burping/upchucking his way through the explanation of his "Little Man" to Mr. Garloupis. (Seriously, he was 81, and kicked the bucket four years later.) At the same time though, the script is almost verbatim the same as the original, but with all the suspense stripped out of it, so someone had at very least read the original script. This 1973 TV remake of the Billy Wilder classic is inferior to the original. The mood is never there. Especially as you'll be spoiled to the plot and won't enjoy the original as much, as if you've watched it first!
That's this 1973 made for television version. 14 out of 21 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? 0 out of 3 found this helpful. In the original film, Wilder had Stanwyck not only appear in a towel, but she enters the scene on the second floor balcony of the house. Zero, zilch, zip. Was this review helpful? OK so it's made for TV, but why watch a bad copy, when you can get your hands on the superb original? What's left is a very faithful representation of…Take the original script, cut out 40 minutes of drama and suspense, make changes to some of the language (not all), make changes to some of the details (not all), and the result is Moreau-like: a hideous combination of 1970s teledrama and 1940s film noir.Lacks the charm and style of the original while keeping most of the script. Writer Steven Bochco had the daunting task of compressing James M. Cain's crime novel into a 75-minute movie for television. Crime Crass Universal Studios took an earlier effort nominated for seven Oscars, which largely created the genre of film noir, and de-noired it in a sloppy adaptation they probably hoped people would skip to focus on the commercials. Celebrate National Dog Day with a look at some shows that feature a few of the most adorable dogs on TV.Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? She suggests buying accident insurance for her husband without telling him. With Richard Crenna, Lee J. Cobb, Robert Webber, Samantha Eggar. But most of the TV cast is so third-rate that when they change the name of Lola's boyfriend from Nino Zachetti (beyond their powers of pronunciation) to Donny Franklin, airhead Kathleen Cody (as Lola) calls him "Johnny" when he's first introduced.
Music made by me (Kjetil) The movie recounts his story. 13 out of 16 found this helpful. 11 out of 15 found this helpful. '40s and '50's Film Noir ... including some early influences, plus a few late stragglers, homages and neo-noirs.One of my fondest memories as a child was watching the plethora of excellent crime, police and detective TV-series with…A work in progress, with many films still to add. And it is not entirely Eggar's fault. The actors aren’t even bad — if you needed a 1970s Fred MacMurray, Richard Crenna would probably be the go-to — but they just don’t fit.