Double Indemnity (1944): Another classic that the Frederick area will miss out on

1944 Paramount promotional advertisement for
Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity, featuring Fred MacMurray,
Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson.

Billy Wilder's 1944 suspense film, Double Indemnity is one of the definitive films of the 1940's, and is considered by many as one of the true motion pictures in the "film noir" genre category.

It was adapted from James M. Cain's 1943 crime novel of the same name, which was originally featured as an eight-part story in Liberty Magazine.  Double Indemnity features Fred MacMurray as insurance salesman Walter Neff, Barbara Stanwyck as femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson, and Edward G. Robinson as investigator Barton Keyes.  This was not the first pairing of MacMurray and Stanwyck, the two were in a previous Paramount film four years earlier, the Preston Sturges Christmas comedy Remember The Night (1940).

I'm not going to give away the complete synopsis of Double Indemnity, due to a upcoming re-release of the film.  With its dark, suspenseful gritty overtones and intriguing moments throughout the film, Wilder's adaptation of Double Indemnity became a smash success when it was released in 1944.  The film received numerous Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Barbara Stanwyck), Best Director (Billy Wilder), Best Screenplay (Billy Wilder & Raymond Chandler) and Best Dramatic Score (Miklos Rozsa).

1944 Newspaper ad for the Paramount-owned cinema in Newark, New Jersey-
showcasing Double Indemnity (from a 1944 issue of Motion Picture Herald).

Fourteen years later after its theatrical release, Double Indemnity was one of many pre-48 Paramount sound feature films that were sold to Lew Wasserman's MCA for television distribution, along with  re-release/re-make rights.  Television audiences in the Frederick area (circa 1958) may have experienced viewing Double Indemnity along with many other vintage Paramount features in the MCA package, when Washington's WTOP-TV 9 (W*USA after 1986) and Baltimore's WBAL-TV 11 acquired the broadcast rights (according to an advertisement in the Lantern Media History Archive).  

It was remade in 1973 as a made-for-TV-movie by Universal Studios, with Richard Crenna (as Walter Neff), Samantha Eggar (as Phyllis Dietrichson), and Lee J. Cobb (as Barton Keyes).

Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity will never fail to disappoint.  It is one of the many interesting (and iconic) classic motion pictures of all-time.  If you've never seen it before, see it when you have the chance to.

SPECIAL REVIVAL SCREENING OF DOUBLE INDEMNITY NATIONWIDE:  Universal Studios, Turner Classic Movies and NCM Fathom Events will present a special revival screening of Double Indemnity (1944) in theaters nationwide on July 19th and July 20th at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM (all times eastern).

Yet unfortunately, the Frederick area will miss out on this gem.  Frederick's cinema venues, MDL Holiday Cinemas, and the "eyesore" that is known to many as Regal Cinemas' 16-plex "Westview" complex are not planning to screen this definitive classic,  Frederick's cinemas (excluding the Weinberg Center For The Performing Arts, which is closed due to air-conditioning system renovations) are missing out on this golden opportunity, to showcase classic films the way they were meant to be seen- on the big screen.  

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This may sound far-fetched to some, but I think it's past time that Frederick had another movie theater/cinema venue.

Memorial Day

1942 advertisement for Paramount Pictures. and the studio's newsreel coverage
of War in the Pacific, filmed by staff news cinematographer Arthur "Art" Menken. 

"Speak Softly and Carry A Big Stick:" Theodore Roosevelt appears in forerunner to Paramount's Newsreels

This is in relation to a recent Hood College class trip to the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Some eleven years before the studio presented its newsreels with "The Eyes of the World" (later "The Eyes and Ears of the World" after the dawn of sound), Paramount Pictures released a news magazine series to theaters- titled Paramount Pictographs.

The weekly newsreel series was produced in conjunction with Bray Studios, a company that was better known for its pioneering work in cartoon animation (though Bray produced a live-action film for General Electric, A Day with Thomas A. Edison in 1921).  Bray's animated output was included with newsreel product featured in Paramount releases.

According to the 1916 issue of The Motion Picture News, this was the second installment of Paramount's newsreel gazette.  For this edition, former President Theodore Roosevelt, who was no stranger to the newsreel camera, presented his thoughts on the topic of preparedness (with inter-titles).  The newsreel also showcased Roosevelt, collaborating on the subject of preparedness with the editor of the Metropolitan Magazine.  The footage was filmed at President Roosevelt's house, Sagamore Hill, in Oyster Bay, New York.

It was an interesting and fascinating newsreel of Theodore Roosevelt in 1916, featured in an early newsreel for a major motion picture studio.

The early Paramount newsreel of Theodore Roosevelt can be viewed here at the Library of Congress' YouTube channel.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from "At The Matinee"

1952 Republic Pictures exhibitors' advertisement for
The Quiet Man, featured in Boxoffice Magazine.

"No patty fingers if you please." -Barry Fitzgerald (as Michaleen Oge Flynn) in John Ford's 1952 classic, The Quiet Man (featuring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, and Ward Bond).

At The Matinee wishes all film enthusiasts a happy (and safe) St. Patrick's Day! Even though this post is brief due to extra classwork at Hood College, that shouldn't stop the author from celebrating this day.

Movies! TV Network will feature showings of John Ford's 1952 masterpiece, The Quiet Man on St. Patrick's Day three times in a row. It will be shown at 8:00 PM, 10:50 PM, and 1:40 AM (all times eastern).

It is also available on DVD and Blu-Ray through Olive Films (under license from Paramount, who owns the Republic/NTA motion picture holdings).  It would love to see John Ford's classic in High-Definition sometime soon.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all from At The Matinee! Have fun (and be safe- please drink responsibly).