Hollywood House Hunting: Double Indemnity

There are none so disillusioned as I after my first screening of the ultimate film-noir classic, Double Indemnity.

Double Indemnity (1944)

Having grown up with Fred MacMurray as the genial eccentric/teacher/scout-leader/father-figure featured in The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, Bon Voyage!, Son of Flubber, Follow Me Boys, The Happiest Millionaire, and My Three Sons, I was totally unprepared to confront the murderous anti-hero of Billy Wilder's opus of sin and seduction, Double Indemnity.  How could Disney's all-American good guy have been so bad?!!

I knew and loved the brainy Professor Brainard NOT the nefarious Walter Neff!

It didn't take long for me to forget flubber and embrace old Fred as the flawed everyman strangled by his own lust, greed, and hubris - the film is pure genius!  Many years and many viewings later, Double Indemnity definitely ranks among my favorite movies of all time.  It is a wonder then that it took so long to go and find the Dietrichson residence, a true Hollywood Hills dream home!

"It was one of those California-Spanish houses everyone was nuts about ten or fifteen years ago; this one
must've cost somebody about thirty-thousand bucks...that is, if he ever finished paying for it." - Walter Neff

On a recent adventure day with the wacky tacky adventure team, we made sure to include the Double Indemnity house on our architectural tour.   In the film, the location is described as "near Los Feliz Boulevard" and technically it is; but after wending one's way along the narrow, winding roads to the top of the hill, the house feels a world apart from the lowlands.  With two movie buffs in the wacky wagon, an unwitting passerby might have thought we saw a spaceship landing - awestruck is an understatement.

The Dietrichson house then & now.
Aside from some slight changes in landscaping (and casting -
Fred to Emily), the house is very much as it was during filming.

The garage doors were wide open when we visited as there were several crews working at the house on that day.  We were definitely conflicted between respecting the fact that it was a private residence and wanting desperately to go on a self-guided tour of the property.  Luckily for the homeowners, the highly-professional workmen kept these wannabe trespassers at bay (no harm in asking, right?).

I like to think that this little balcony is where Phyllis Dietrichson
(Barbara Stanwyck) was sunbathing in nothing but that "honey of an anklet."

Are you a nut for old Hollywood?  Do you count yourself as a Fred fan?  Have you ever house hunted for film locales?  Are you an admirer of Double Indemnity?  Have you ever committed adultery, murder, and insurance fraud all at the same time?  Wait a minute...don't answer that!

The Double Indemnity House
6301 Quebec Dr
Los Angeles, CA


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Silly Cinema: Lady of Burlesque

When one is faced with a particularly-problematic dilemma, it is wise for one to remain calm, think about the situation objectively and make a prudent decision based on  the facts and a proper evaluation of the associated pros and cons.  I am anything but wise or prudent - especially when it comes to old movies.  That is why, when standing in the check-out line of the local grocery store, I bought Lady of Burlesque, starring Barbara Stanwyck.  As a rule, aside from the occasional pack of gum or mints, I generally refrain from impulse purchases at the register.  Since when are DVD's an impulse buy at Stater Bros. Supermarket?  Even though the DVD cover art appeared to be a child's crude, first attempt at Photoshop, I couldn't help myself.  As an rabid avid fan of old Hollywood, I have amassed a collection of close to 800 films.  Just when I thought I had seen everything, I hadn't.  In fact, there are so many movies that I haven't seen that my love affair with movies is sure to continue for a long time to come.

Barbara Stanwyck has never been one of my favorite stars - a little too pointy or something.  I enjoy some of her films - Ball of Fire, Double Indemnity, The Lady Eve - but I have never developed a connection to her as I have with other stars of Hollywood's Golden Era.  Maybe that is why I get some sort of subversive pleasure at the end of Sorry, Wrong Number.  Really, she kind of had it coming.  Am I right?  My favorite actresses tend to be wholesome stars like Deanna Durbin and Doris Day.  As I write, I realize that maybe my affinity for those particular female leads may have something to do with chubby cheeks and alliterative, "D" names.

Lady of Burlesque is based on The G-String Murders: 

The Story of a Burlesque Girl by Gypsy Rose Lee.

(I just bought a used copy on etsy!!!)

Lady of Burlesque is part murder mystery and part girly show.  Don't worry prudes, all the other good parts remain covered throughout the duration of the film!  Stanwyck plays Dixie Daisy, the most popular performer at The Old Opera House run by S.B. Foss.  She is the peace keeper with the Chinese restaurant next door, a rival of a couple of the "peelers" and mother hen to the rest, and the love interest of Michael O'Shea, a baggy-pants, burlesque comic.  "Everything's coming up roses" in Gypsy's ode to backstage burlesque until someone starts murdering the performers.  Everyone is a suspect and Dixie must play novice sleuth in order to save her own neck!  The proceedings are enjoyable and my admiration for Stanwyck actually grew as it is apparent that she sings all of her own songs and dances like a wiz!  That is why I love old Hollywood; the actors had to do more than look good.  Even straight, dramatic stars kept singing and hoofing in their proverbial "back pockets."

This clip shows the reprise of "Take it off the E-String."  Stanwyck, engaged in a "scene," and her fellow performers break into song to cover the backstage screams of another girl getting smacked around by her street-tough boyfriend.

Stanwyck as Dixie Daisy

Overall, Lady of Burlesque (1943) is the perfect movie for a rainy afternoon.  It incorporates wacky tacky elements like slapstick, great clothing (Dixie's costumes were designed by Edith Head) and strippin'.  It is a great, broad comedy and is a great comedy with broads!!!  It is reminiscent of Lady on a Train, another (and superior) movie from the same era that includes murder, mystery, comedy, amazing costumes and music.  Lady on a Train, stars who else, Deanna Durbin, and is one of my favorite movies of all time.  Both films employ some of Hollywood's finest character actors too.  If you like Lady of Burlesque, you are sure to like Lady on a Train, but don't take my word for it! 

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny