Great Character: Phyllis Dietrichson (“Double Indemnity”)
One of the most notable femme fatale characters in the history of cinema.
One of the most notable femme fatale characters in the history of cinema.
Per Wikipedia:
A femme fatale (play /ˌfɛm fəˈtæl/ or /ˌfɛm fəˈtɑːl/; French: [fam fatal]) is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to entrance and hypnotize her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as being literally supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, vampire, witch, or demon.
In other words, a Trickster, adept at wearing any personality ‘mask’ they need to accomplish their goals. Hollywood is well aware of this character type. Just look at this list of movies featuring a significant femme fatale:
Body Heat (1981)
Black Wido (1987)
Fatal Attraction (1987)
Basic Instinct (1992)
Poison Ivy (1992)
The Last Seduction (1994)
Disclosure (1995)
Wild Things (1998)
And many more. But let’s honor one of the earliest and best femme fatales in American cinema history: Phyllis Dietrichson from the 1944 crime thriller Double Indemnity [screenplay by Billy Wilder & Raymond Chandler, based on a novel by James L. Cain].
Here is an IMDB plot summary:
In 1938, Walter Neff, an experienced salesman of the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co., meets the seductive wife of one of his clients, Phyllis Dietrichson, and they have an affair. Phyllis proposes to kill her husband to receive the proceeds of an accident insurance policy and Walter devises a scheme to receive twice the amount based on a double indemnity clause. When Mr. Dietrichson is found dead on a train-track, the police accept the determination of accidental death. However, the insurance analyst and Walter’s best friend Barton Keyes does not buy the story and suspects that Phyllis has murdered her husband with the help of another man.
The movie dialogue between Dietrichson [Barbara Stanwyck] and Neff [Fred MacMurray] crackles. Here are some examples:
Walter Neff: You’ll be here too?
Phyllis: I guess so, I usually am.
Walter Neff: Same chair, same perfume, same anklet?
Phyllis: I wonder if I know what you mean.
Walter Neff: I wonder if you wonder.
Phyllis: I think you’re rotten.
Walter Neff: I think you’re swell — so long as I’m not your husband.
Phyllis: Get out of here.
Walter Neff: You bet I’ll get out of here, baby. I’ll get out of here but quick.
Phyllis: We’re both rotten.
Walter Neff: Only you’re a little more rotten.
And then there’s this classic scene:
Dietrichson traffics in two of the narrative elements most frequently associated with femme fatales: Sex. Money. And the message of these stories more often than not: “You play with fire, you get burned.”
Phyllis Dietrichson: A great character.
Which movie character is your favorite femme fatale?