Double Indemnity (1944 film noir) by Billy Wilder is widely considered to be the original film that started the film noir movement. It is a great example of female exploitation. A film noir that is well-crafted does not exist without a classic femme fatale.
Double Indemnity features Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson, a beautiful, but deadly, seductive actress. A domestic goddess who wanted only one thing: her husband’s death. Walter Neff, an insurance salesman, is her main character. She is sweetly manipulated by her to murder him. But if the film is truly listened to, you can see the dialogue of Phyllis. Walter doesn’t get persuaded by her, but she is tricked by her brilliantly manipulative skills to do something she hadn’t thought about. It makes it appear that Walter wanted him to die and provides a way for him to do it. This is achieved by describing Phyllis as a manipulator and seducer from the very beginning. Walter sees her first time she sees her. She is wearing a towel. What personality is a femme fatale? David Crewe says that a femme fatale is a woman who is sexually enticing and captivating. Film noir’s protagonist, however, is attracted to her like an insect to its web. Deborah Walker adds that a femme fatale is like the spider-woman who uses physical seduction with lethal ambition. She is driven to personal independence and is not interested in a man as a romantic object of love. Janey Place asserts that she doesn’t want the man. He is a tool. She wants something for herself. The film sexualizes Phyllis instantly, and the audience believes only one thing about her. Walter and our eyes are drawn by her curves, flirtatious figure, and towel. Walter is drawn to her tight fitting clothes after she’s finished dressing and her attractive anklet. Walter and I slowly scan the body of Phyllis, taking in every piece. Phyllis, like a treasured piece of art in a museum, is not given the dignity that it takes to be a human being. Only an object to be admired and admired for hours. This shows that Walter doesn’t help her out of kindness or money, but because he lusts after her. Crewe adds that the femme fatale is often viewed by critics as a result of the shifting gender roles post World War I when more women left the house to work. The home-front war effort saw many homecoming veterans who had been physically and psychologically wounded during World War I, and found that their wives had become financially and sexually independent. Men found powerful women as attractive and frightening. The millions of men who went overseas to war created the shifting of gender roles, and marriage. The domesticated home was never able to return to its original state after the war ended. In reality, it made matters worse by increasing urban anonymity in addition to sexual confusion.
Women who were confident and imaginative became Femme fatales. Women who weren’t afraid to speak up or share their thoughts freely. Women who refuse to submit to patriarchal male dominance. Women used to be able to do their work independently of their husbands. Women could think for themselves and no longer had to be reliant on their husbands. This meant that they learned how to work hard without any help from men and were able to make their own choices in life. All the demeaning and outrageous views of America’s Femme Fatales, and the backlash women got from being seen in this way. The idea that everyone saw women in the same light after the war would make you think this was true, but it wasn’t. Walker says that “the situation in France was different” and that it led to different interpretations of the fatale character. There are many female characters in French noir post-war. They include small-time, treacherous and shrewd two-timers, vamps that can dig gold, domineering matriarchs, and megeres (fishwives), all of which are negative. These women often cause trouble for the French Noir hero unwittingly, but they are rarely major characters. They lack narrative agency, power, visual dominance, and the amazing power that the American fatale has. When one “looks for the women” in French noir, it is one thing to call them a manipulating, deadly spider. It is another to make French noir’s femme fatale so insignificant they are barely noticed. It’s not necessary for a film to show a country that one’s images are so deplorable and without all the control and importance. The French film noir is more than the harsh labels. It’s their differing goals and desires that make it so unique. Walker continued, “Though the French female fatale may be ambitious or unscrupulous, she will not kill or ruin an older, less attractive husband or his wife. She will murder innocent victims. Her strong emotional attachment to her male protagonist is often what makes her stand out from American models. French fatales can be tragic or demonic, but they are almost always women in love. She is primarily interested in obtaining and/or keeping her man. Her lover is, almost universally, her ultimate object. He isn’t just a tool that can be abused and discarded in order to seek power and independence. This is another way of encouraging independent women. This is another way to encourage independence in women.
France’s women did not have any reason to leave their families during World War II. They were not as affected as the American women. French women wanted to be reunited with their families to rebuild their lives. However, this does not mean that women in France weren’t exploited differently. American women started to enjoy political freedom in 1919 when they could vote. French women had to fight for freedom from the control of men. The privilege was granted to them in 1944. But, despite being minorities under the Code Civil, women in France were not allowed to hold any power. To show the loss and shame caused by war, there were many French noirs movies. These fears were directed at French women and made them “scapegoats” for the nation’s shame, Deborah Walker says. Therefore, the French did not fear independence from domestic life. It was their fear of sexual infidelity. This was seen as the ultimate act of betrayal against their nation. After the Liberation, such crimes were punished as harshly as shaving the heads of women who collaborated with Germans.
What if the femme fatale doesn’t adhere to the rules? Double Indemnity’s Femme fatale would be misinterpretation. Richard Armstrong explains, “Phyllis Dietrichson’s rotten because she is seen through the eyes of Walter Neff and claims investigator Barton Keyes. Memories are susceptible to being distorted. They can be distorted. It is valid ontologically to state that the world exists even if your eyes are closed. You can see the world through your eyes, but you have to interpret it for yourself. We are limited in our ability to interpret the information we are given. Phyllis’s entire story was not revealed. While bits of memories were possible through her dialogue, it wasn’t enough to show us the truth. Walter, for example, was able us to see his feelings for Phyllis from Walter’s perspective. We also saw how easy it was to give in to her charms. He was weak-minded and greedy. That’s why he committed murder. We don’t know the whole truth about Phyllis, so we can’t call her a femme fatale. It is possible that she had other reasons than abuse from her husband. If Phyllis does not express her point, it could lead to her character not being the woman we imagine. This movie depicts men’s fantasies about women like Phyllis based only on her looks and past struggles. Mark Jancovich thinks that the “femme fatale” is a demonization and mocking of independent working women at a time when it was common for women to give up their jobs during wartime and return to their domestic roles as mothers and wives.
Phyllis Dietrichson, as well as all female femme fatale characters, attacks women who are trying to escape the housewife life. In an attempt to dissuade viewers from seeing certain types of women, men created the femme mortale image of women as a way of retaliating. This is a woman quitting the system that dictates her life as well as her actions towards men. Phyllis would rather her husband had died than she did. The wheels of murder were set by the actions of a man and only one man. Both of them were condemned to be together in the end as the result of selfish desires. Dick Bernard said that the criminal could have been a woman elegantly dressed in a handsome coiffure. She could even be a noir legend: a femme fatale with a gun against her Jean Louis dress. It was not unexpected for the deed of the woman to end in death or imprisonment. But, it didn’t really matter what the manner of execution was. The woman can be executed for her inhuman acts, and then justice is served.
What if Walter lived at the time Phyllis killed him at her house? Scott was then released and a cover-up was found. The audience would then notice the unfairness and double standard. This made it appear that Phyllis was the sole person responsible. Due to her bad nature and her sexy actions, she should receive a severe punishment. Bernard says that: “In Vintage Noir, the Femme Noire is killed by her lover, Double Indemnity). The male is still responsible for the murder of the Femme Noire.” This is a way that both sides are punished, but the hidden message remains unheard. It is not possible to see a femme fatale as a martyr. It is wrong to call Phyllis a dangerous, heartless, and deadly femme fatale, without taking into account her motivations. It all boils down to the old adage, “Monsters don’t come from birth.”
Phyllis Dietrichson was a femme fatale. She wanted her husband’s murder and used her looks to manipulate men. She is, however, a victim to her own circumstances. She is a captive of the world-class system and an understanding of her role in the world. Which is controlled by a man. Phyllis tries to escape the grip of men, right or wrong, using the only tool she has against them, her eyes. Phyllis’s worst crime isn’t murder. It is her arrogant assumption that her looks can overcome a man. This makes Water the hero. The audience should identify with him and root for him, just as they would for a murderer or thief. Even though he did commit the crimes, he did it because Phyllis was a mere women.
