Double Indemnity (1944) Film Review - Barbara Stanwyck

Plot Summary - Classic film noir, directed by Billy Wilder, in which insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) gets mixed up with the ultimate femme fatale, Phyllis (Barbara Stanwyck), a woman who seduces willing Neff into helping her purchase an accident policy on her husband (without his knowledge) with a plan to bump the husband off and collect the insurance money. Neff (swayed by her perfume and sexy anklet, it seems) agrees to help her and comes up with an elaborate scheme to pull off the murder without getting caught - plus he's included a "double indemnity clause" in the accident policy, which will give Phyllis $100,000 if the husband dies via train accident. The plot is put in motion, and all seems to go as planned - until a smart office "claims manager" (Edward G. Robinson) who works with Neff is busy sniffing out his hunch that the "accident" that killed hubby was actually a murder.

Review - Top-notch entertainment all the way - I love this one. Great dialogue, memorable scenes, well done acting and star appeal, as well as typical film noir plot elements all creates an exciting watch. Set in L.A., her Spanish-style house on Los Feliz Blvd. price paid: $30,000 (geez), the Hollywood Bowl, Glendale, Hollywood, and Olvera Street get a mention. How about Stanwyck in that blonde wig?! Groovy stuff. Rating - 10/10 stars

Executive Suite (1954) - Barbara Stanwyck, William Holden

Plot Summary - An executive meeting has been called at the Tredway furniture manufacturing corporation, located in a Wall Street tower - unfortunately, no one knows that the president, Bullard, has just dropped dead on the street outside the building. When word finally comes of his death, six executives and the daughter (Barbara Stanwyck) of Tredway, the deceased company founder, are to vote for a new president. A power struggle is soon in the works for this position, mainly between Shaw (Fredric March), a man always looking to increase profits even if it means selling shoddy furniture - and Walling (William Holden), a young designer with new ideas and lots of ambition.

Review - This is an absorbing tale, boosted up by top-notch performances by an all-star cast. In addition to the male executives played by March and Holden, plus also Walter Pidgeon, Louis Calhern, etc. - - several top female stars also dig in here and manage to steal some scenes - Shelley Winters in a fairly small part as a secretary who is having an affair with one man, June Allyson as Bill Holden's usually supportive wife, and especially Barbara Stanwyck as Miss Tredway, the seemingly suicidal mistress of the dead president. Filmed in black and white with no score, most of the scenes taking place in the executive suites of the building - this film gets more interesting as it goes along and as the story reaches it's peak, the vote for president. Rating - 8/10 stars