Double Indemnity

One of the classic film noirs, Billy Wilder's Oscar-nominated film stars Fred MacMurray as insurance agent Walter Neff. When he calls at the Dietrichson residence on a renewal call, the only person home is Phyllis Dietrichson, a luminous, seductive blonde with the brain and heart of a black widow spider. Soon, the pair are involved in a passionate affair that can only be consummated by her husband's death (which will also make them both rich). The murder goes ahead but Neff's boss, Barton Keyes has a niggling doubt about paying out on the policy while Walter and Phyllis's passion slowly sours. Told in flashback through Neff's narrative, the hard-edged, cynical tone exactly matched the mood of the period and, while the censorious Hays Code is followed to the letter, Phyllis's ankle bracelet remains one of cinema's enduring erotic images.