Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity, novel by James M. Cain that was first published as an eight-part serial in Liberty magazine in 1936 and later appeared both in the collection Three of a Kind and as a stand-alone novel in 1943. It became the basis for the quintessential film noir of the same title (1944).

Cain’s contribution to the hard-boiled thriller genre is perhaps nowhere better realized than in the mounting tension of Double Indemnity. The story, narrated in the first person by insurance salesman Walter Huff, is fast-paced and dark. One evening Huff stops by the home of his client Mr. Nirdlinger to persuade him to renew his automobile insurance policy. Nirdlinger is not at home, but his wife, Phyllis Nirdlinger, a beautiful femme fatale, is, and she asks about taking out an accidental death policy on her husband. Over the next few days, Huff finds himself having an affair with Phyllis and helping her plot to murder her husband and cash in on a double indemnity clause in the insurance package that Walter contrives to sell to her husband, with his daughter, Lola, as a witness. Lola soon persuades Huff to lend money to her boyfriend, Sachetti, with his car as collateral.

The murder plot requires Nirdlinger to travel by train, and, when Nirdlinger breaks his leg, a planned road trip becomes a journey by train. Huff and Phyllis kill Nirdlinger, and then Huff disguises himself as Nirdlinger and boards the train. Nirdlinger’s body is placed behind the train, so that it appears that he fell by accident off the rear car of the train. At first, the plot seems to have succeeded. However, Barton Keyes, the claims manager of the insurance company, finds the supposed accident suspicious. As Keyes edges ever closer to the truth, Lola tells Huff that she believes that Phyllis killed her mother, Nirdlinger’s first wife, and Keyes reveals that Sachetti has been paying regular visits to Phyllis. Transferring his affections to Lola, Huff decides that his best course of action is to kill Phyllis and frame Sachetti. Phyllis, however, shoots Huff before he can kill her. Huff survives and confesses to Keyes. The ending differs from that of the film, but the plot dooms both murderers.

Discover how ordinary objects work, and expand your understanding of the familiar.

SIGN UP

" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">

Thank you for signing up!"

Back to homepage

By clicking "Sign Up", you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

The great interest of this novel is Cain’s masterly use of perspective: we see everything from Huff’s point of view. Initially he seems to be the seducer and instigator. However, as his narration develops, so does the truth emerge. Huff’s surrender to Phyllis’s allure and his subsequent puppet-role at her hands becomes apparent as the weakness of his character and the evil strength of hers are unmasked, and the reader’s sympathies are engaged in a different way. Cain has created an engrossing situation, and the reader is drawn in by seeing it through Huff’s helpless eyes as it spirals out of control.