Book Fourteen of the Book-a-Week Quest
Double Indemnity
by James M. Cain (1943)
Having just watched the movie recently (as part of my Classic Movie Reviews that I'll be getting back to soon), I was very excited to read this short novel. I really love the movie (see review here for a plot description which I won't repeat in this book "review") -- probably one of my Top Ten movies of all time. I was worried that the book was inevitably going to be a disappointment...and it was.
I just finished reading James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice a little over a week ago and I enjoyed it quite a bit (review here). Cain's writing style is incredibly similar in this book, too -- very minimal physical character descriptions, no usage of words like "he said" or "she replied" after bits of dialogue. For these short novels (they're both over 100 pages, but less than 150 pages), the style works.
It's not that this book was bad...it's just that when you compare it to the movie, it pales in comparison. Screenwriter Billy Wilder was seriously one of the best in his craft. There were huge amounts of sex appeal, wit, and suspense in the film...with Cain's novel, there's suspense, but the sex appeal and wit are seriously lacking.
Plus, there is quite a different ending in the novel than in the movie. You can't forget that this is a noir which means things likely won't turn out happy in the end...and they don't in the novel either, but there is a pretty substantial change from the book to the movie and in Wilder's movie, the denouement is infinitely more satisfying, substantial, and shocking.
I realize that Cain's book came first, but this is the rare case where the movie is better than its source material. Now, the book is not bad at all...but when compared to one of the best movies I've ever seen, it certainly falls a little flat.
I just finished reading James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice a little over a week ago and I enjoyed it quite a bit (review here). Cain's writing style is incredibly similar in this book, too -- very minimal physical character descriptions, no usage of words like "he said" or "she replied" after bits of dialogue. For these short novels (they're both over 100 pages, but less than 150 pages), the style works.
It's not that this book was bad...it's just that when you compare it to the movie, it pales in comparison. Screenwriter Billy Wilder was seriously one of the best in his craft. There were huge amounts of sex appeal, wit, and suspense in the film...with Cain's novel, there's suspense, but the sex appeal and wit are seriously lacking.
Plus, there is quite a different ending in the novel than in the movie. You can't forget that this is a noir which means things likely won't turn out happy in the end...and they don't in the novel either, but there is a pretty substantial change from the book to the movie and in Wilder's movie, the denouement is infinitely more satisfying, substantial, and shocking.
I realize that Cain's book came first, but this is the rare case where the movie is better than its source material. Now, the book is not bad at all...but when compared to one of the best movies I've ever seen, it certainly falls a little flat.
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