Double Indemnity (lost alternate endings of film noir; 1944): Difference between revisions
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A notorious perfectionist, Wilder had a reputation for ruthlessly removing/reshooting vital scenes even from final prints of his films if he felt they weren't working - notably redoing the entire opening of his masterpiece ''Sunset Boulevard'', at the then-astronomical cost of $150,000, after preview audiences did not react as he wanted them to. In the case of ''Double Indemnity'', he toyed both with an alternate ending and a significant extension of the one that was used. | A notorious perfectionist, Wilder had a reputation for ruthlessly removing/reshooting vital scenes even from final prints of his films if he felt they weren't working - notably redoing the entire opening of his masterpiece ''Sunset Boulevard'', at the then-astronomical cost of $150,000, after preview audiences did not react as he wanted them to. In the case of ''Double Indemnity'', he toyed both with an alternate ending and a significant extension of the one that was used. | ||
The alternate ending was the one written in the novel. The two main characters, Walter Neff and Phyllis Nirdlinger, attempt to flee after investigator Keyes makes it very clear that he knows they did it, leaving the couple to stew in their guilt. They are onboard a steamship to Europe when Phyllis (who in this version is less seductive than flat-out psychotic) decides they must drown together. Several elements of this ending would have very obviously conflicted with the puritanical | The alternate ending was the one written in the novel. The two main characters, Walter Neff and Phyllis Nirdlinger, attempt to flee after investigator Keyes makes it very clear that he knows they did it, leaving the couple to stew in their guilt. They are onboard a steamship to Europe when Phyllis (who in this version is less seductive than flat-out psychotic) decides they must drown together. Several elements of this ending would have very obviously conflicted with the puritanical Hays Code imposed on fims at the time, and it was probably never intended to be filmed.<ref name="DI">[https://archive.org/details/wildertimeslifeo00lall/page/126 A page of the book ''Wilder Times'' that mentions the two deleted scenes.] Retrieved 04 Oct '19</ref> | ||
By contrast, the extension to the eventual ending was not only filmed but shown to test audiences. In the film as it was finally released, a badly wounded Neff - having been forced to kill Phyllis and subsequently deciding to confess all - is caught just as he concludes by the police with Keyes in tow. Neff makes a desperate run for it but can only stumble a few steps before collapsing at the elevator. He and Keyes exchange a final, bittersweet goodbye, and we fade out. | By contrast, the extension to the eventual ending was not only filmed but shown to test audiences. In the film as it was finally released, a badly wounded Neff - having been forced to kill Phyllis and subsequently deciding to confess all - is caught just as he concludes by the police with Keyes in tow. Neff makes a last desperate run for it but can only stumble a few steps before collapsing at the elevator. He and Keyes exchange a final, bittersweet goodbye, and we fade out. | ||
The extension picks up some time after Neff's arrest and presumably trial, as he is being solemnly led to and executed in a gas chamber as a heartbroken Keyes looks on | The extension picks up some time after Neff's arrest and presumably trial, as he is being solemnly led to and executed in a gas chamber as a heartbroken Keyes looks on from outside. Neff turns and locks eyes with him, just before the chamber door is closed. This sequence was shown to test audiences and was actually received quite well, but a Hays Code review deemed it "unduly gruesome"<ref name="DI"/>. Wilder eventually decided it was altogether unnecessary, since the previous scene had both neatly rounded off the two men's relationship and strongly implied that Neff was already dying. | ||
==Availability== | ==Availability== | ||
Revision as of 02:42, 16 July 2022
A still from the cut alternate ending.
Status: Lost
Double Indemnity is a 1944 film noir directed by Billy Wilder, co-starring Fred MacMurray as a likeable but cynical insurance salesman, Barbara Stanwyck as the femme fatale who convinces him to help murder her older husband for the payout, and Edward G. Robinson as the senior investigator of the insurance firm, who doesn't realize that in hounding Phyllis he's also closing in on his best friend. The film has earned a spot among the all-time classics, is considered to have set the standard for its genre, and at the time put Wilder's name on the map as an innovative director.
It is also notable for the amount of material that did not make it to screen. As it happened, Double Indemnity had two different scripted endings: one of which was filmed, another which never made it past the scripting phase.
Alternative endings
A notorious perfectionist, Wilder had a reputation for ruthlessly removing/reshooting vital scenes even from final prints of his films if he felt they weren't working - notably redoing the entire opening of his masterpiece Sunset Boulevard, at the then-astronomical cost of $150,000, after preview audiences did not react as he wanted them to. In the case of Double Indemnity, he toyed both with an alternate ending and a significant extension of the one that was used.
The alternate ending was the one written in the novel. The two main characters, Walter Neff and Phyllis Nirdlinger, attempt to flee after investigator Keyes makes it very clear that he knows they did it, leaving the couple to stew in their guilt. They are onboard a steamship to Europe when Phyllis (who in this version is less seductive than flat-out psychotic) decides they must drown together. Several elements of this ending would have very obviously conflicted with the puritanical Hays Code imposed on fims at the time, and it was probably never intended to be filmed.[1]
By contrast, the extension to the eventual ending was not only filmed but shown to test audiences. In the film as it was finally released, a badly wounded Neff - having been forced to kill Phyllis and subsequently deciding to confess all - is caught just as he concludes by the police with Keyes in tow. Neff makes a last desperate run for it but can only stumble a few steps before collapsing at the elevator. He and Keyes exchange a final, bittersweet goodbye, and we fade out.
The extension picks up some time after Neff's arrest and presumably trial, as he is being solemnly led to and executed in a gas chamber as a heartbroken Keyes looks on from outside. Neff turns and locks eyes with him, just before the chamber door is closed. This sequence was shown to test audiences and was actually received quite well, but a Hays Code review deemed it "unduly gruesome"[1]. Wilder eventually decided it was altogether unnecessary, since the previous scene had both neatly rounded off the two men's relationship and strongly implied that Neff was already dying.
Availability
The filmed sequence hasn't been seen since it was removed, shortly before the film's release. Efforts to find it have only served to confirm that the footage has been lost completely, apparently mishandled by Wilder's estate. A few production stills survive, along with a few versions of both scripts.
Video
Reference
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 A page of the book Wilder Times that mentions the two deleted scenes. Retrieved 04 Oct '19