Double Indemnity
- PASSED
- Year:
- 1944
- 107 min
- 856,702 Views
FADE IN:
A-1 LOS ANGELES - A DOWNTOWN INTERSECTION
It is night, about two o'clock, very light traffic.
At the left and in the immediate foreground a semaphore
traffic signal stands at GO. Approaching it at about thirty
miles per hour is a Dodge 1938 coupe. It is driven erratically
and weaving a little, but not out of control.
When the car is about forty feet away, the signal changes to
STOP. Car makes no attempt to stop but comes on through.
is crossing the intersection at right angles. It swerves and
skids to avoid the Dodge, which goes on as though nothing
had happened. The truck stops with a panicky screech of tires.
There is a large sign on the truck: "READ THE LOS ANGELES
TIMES". The truck driver's infuriated face stares after the
coupe.
A-3 THE COUPE
continues along the street, still weaving, then slows down
and pulls over towards the curb in front of a tall office
building.
A-4 THE COUPE
stops. The headlights are turned off. For a second nothing
happens, then the car door opens slowly. A man eases himself
out onto the sidewalk and stands a moment leaning on the
open door to support himself. He's a tall man, about thirty-
five years old. From the way he moves there seems to be
something wrong with his left shoulder.
He straightens up and painfully lowers his left hand into
his jacket pocket. He leans into the car. He brings out a
light-weight overcoat and drapes it across his shoulders. He
shuts the car door and walks toward the building.
Above the closed, double-plate glass doors is lettered:
"PACIFIC BUILDING". To the left of entrance there is a
drugstore, closed, dark except for a faint light in the back.
The man comes stiffly up to the doors. (CAMERA HAS MOVED UP
WITH HIM). He tries the doors. They are locked. He knocks on
the glass. Inside, over his shoulder, the lobby of the
building is visible: a side entrance to the drugstore on the
left, in the rear a barber shop and cigar and magazine stand
closed up for the night, and to the right two elevators. One
elevator is open and its dome light falls across the dark
lobby.
The man knocks again. The night watchman sticks his head out
of the elevator and looks toward entrance. He comes out with
a newspaper in one hand and a half-eaten sandwich in the
other. He finishes the sandwich on the way to the doors,
looks out and recognizes the man outside, unlocks the door
and pulls it open.
NIGHT WATCHMAN:
Hello there, Mr. Neff.
Neff walks in past him without answering.
A-6 INT. LOBBY
Neff is walking towards elevator. Night watchman looks after
him, relocks door, follows to elevator. Neff enters elevator.
A-7 ELEVATOR
Neff stands leaning against wall. He is pale and haggard
with pain, but deadpans as night watchman joins him.
NIGHT WATCHMAN:
Working pretty late aren't you, Mr.
Neff?
NEFF:
(Tight-lipped)
Late enough.
NIGHT WATCHMAN:
You look kind of all in at that.
NEFF:
I'm fine. Let's ride.
Night watchman pulls lever, doors close and elevator rises.
NIGHT WATCHMAN:
How's the insurance business, Mr.
Neff?
NEFF:
Okay.
NIGHT WATCHMAN:
They wouldn't ever sell me any. They
say I've got something loose in my
heart. I say it's rheumatism.
NEFF:
(Scarcely listening)
Uh-huh.
Night watchman looks around at him, turns away again and the
elevator stops.
NIGHT WATCHMAN:
(Surly)
Twelve.
The door opens. Across a small dark reception room a pair of
frosted glass doors are lettered: PACIFIC ALL-RISK INSURANCE
COMPANY - FOUNDED 1906 - MAIN OFFICE. There is a little light
beyond the glass doors.
Neff straightens up and walks heavily out of the elevator,
across reception room to doors. He pushes them open. The
night watchman stares after him morosely, works lever,
elevator doors start to close.
A-8 TWELFTH FLOOR INSURANCE OFFICE
(Note for set-designer: Our Insurance Company occupies the
entire eleventh and twelfth floors of the building. On the
twelfth floor are the executive offices and claims and sales
departments. These all open off a balcony which runs all the
way around. From the balcony you see the eleventh floor below:
one enormous room filled with desks, typewriters, filing
cabinets, business machines, etc.)
Neff comes through the double entrance doors from the
reception room. The twelfth floor is dark. Some light shines
up from the eleventh floor. Neff takes a few steps then holds
on to the balcony railing and looks down.
A-9 THE ELEVENTH FLOOR FROM ABOVE - NEFF'S POINT OF VIEW
Two colored women are cleaning the offices. One is dry-mopping
the floor, the other is moving chairs back into position,
etc. A colored man is emptying waste baskets into a big square
box. He shuffles a little dance step as he moves, and hums a
little tune.
A-10 NEFF
Moves away from the railing with a faint smile on his face,
and walks past two or three offices (CAMERA WITH HIM) towards
a glass door with number twenty-seven on it and three names:
HENRY B. ANDERSON, WALTER NEFF, LOUIS L. SCHWARTZ. Neff opens
the door.
A-11 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE - DARK
Three desks, filing cabinets, one typewriter on stand, one
dictaphone on fixed stand against wall with rack of records
underneath, telephones on all three desks. Water cooler with
inverted bottle and paper cup holder beside it. Two windows
facing toward front of building. Venetian blinds. No curtains.
Waste basket full, ash trays not emptied. The office has not
been cleaned.
Neff enters, switches on desk lamp. He looks across at dicta
phone, goes heavily to it and lifts off the fabric cover. He
leans down hard on the dictaphone stand as if feeling faint.
He turns away from dictaphone, takes a few uncertain steps
and falls heavily into a swivel chair. His head goes far
back, his eyes close, cold sweat shows on his face. For a
moment he stays like this, exhausted, then his eyes open
slowly and look down at his left shoulder. His good hand
flips the overcoat back, he unbuttons his jacket, loosens
his tie and shirt. This was quite an effort. He rests for a
second, breathing hard. With the help of his good hand he
edges his left elbow up on the arm-rest of the chair, supports
it there and then pulls his jacket wide. A heavy patch of
dark blood shows on his shirt. He pushes his chair along the
floor towards the water cooler, using his feet and his right
hand against the desk, takes out a handkerchief, presses
with his hand against the spring faucet of the cooler, soaks
the handkerchief in water and tucks it, dripping wet, against
the wound inside his shirt. Next, he gets a handful of water
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"Double Indemnity" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/double_indemnity_65>.
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