A Study of Lighting in Double Indemnity

As the shadow of a man on crutches hobbles toward the camera, the credits roll over his dark body. Fade to a seemingly deserted Los Angeles street at night. Cut to a speeding car running a red light and almost colliding with an oncoming newspaper truck. After the car comes to a halt, a man steps out and limps to the door of a large building. The interior of this building is almost completely dark, except for a stream of light pouring out of an office doorway. As Neff enters the office area, the janitors are cleaning the lower level, with the aid of lamp light. While Neff makes his way around the balcony to the office his enormous shadow overpowers his large body, and once he enters the office, his shadow in the doorway is the only visible evidence that he is present in the room. Once the desk lamp is turned on, the audience gets their first glimpse at Walter Neff’s façade: a middle-aged man with sharp features, glistening with sweat in the lamp-light. Neff slowly rolls his chair to the recorder and sets it up; he then begins to record his “office memorandum” to Martin Keyes. He begins this message with a confession of murder, explaining his dual reasons for the killing: “I killed him for money, and for a woman. I didn’t get the money, and I didn’t get the woman.” 

Double Indemnity (Wilder, 1944) is centered on one man and his struggle against evil. Throughout the film, Walter Neff tells the story of his ultimate demise due to a sinful love affair with a married woman. Since the presentation of story information is completely restricted, the audience is forced to hear the entire account from Walter’s perspective. It is only through Walter’s flashbacks that the viewer receives information outside the walls of the story. Through the intertwining of the restricted narrative information and the lighting techniques, the spectator can watch the character of Walter Neff slowly embrace his evil counterpart.