loveless sex and unhappy endings. The characters of noir fiction are incredibly unpleasant and so is the overall tone of the genre, yet the genre is undeniably compelling and has an allure like no other genre ever will. ‘Double Indemnity’ by James M. Cain is a prime example of noir fiction at its finest. It certainly consists of all the noir conventions - Walter Huff plays the role of the conflicted anti hero and Phyllis Nirdlinger is the deadly femme fatale who uses her sexuality to manipulate
The Female Entrepreneurial Role in James M Cain's Mildred Pierce A woman's place in the post-depression era is usually one where a woman would commonly be known to have a role in the economy; only to be waiting in her kitchen to cook for the "money-making husband." It was often rare to encounter one woman who had the ability to take her inner interests and turn them into an entrepreneurial role in society. Yet, through this novel by James M. Cain, one will encounter Mildred Pierce, in which
the perfect word to describe the genre that was booming in American film and literature during post World War II. Noir authors developed popular formulas to address genuine social and aesthetic problems that appealed to American modernist society. James M. Cain’s short nouvelle, Double Indemnity, contains the basics formula for noir. As a written confession, the story unfolds the plunging doom of hapless sap, Walter Huff, who uses his job and knowledge of insurance to be immersed in a murderous scheme
Indemnity, is a prime example of film noir in that it accomplishes the goal of film noir to unsettle its audience through its style, setting, characters, and themes. Directed by Billy Wilder and released in 1944, Double Indemnity, was adapted from James M. Cain’s novella of the same name, a piece of American hard-boiled fiction. Fred MacMurry plays Walter Neff, an insurance salesman, and Barbara Stanwyck is Phyllis Dietrichson, the scheming wife. Edward G. Robinson is Barton Keyes, Neff’s boss, whose
Adaptation of James Cain’s Mildred Pierce In contemporary film making, “Hollywood-ization” generally refers to the re-creation of a classic work in a form more vulgar and sexually explicit than the original in an effort to boost movie attendance. After all, sex and violence sell. However, from the mid-1930’s to the 1950’s, “Hollywood-ization” referred to the opposite case where controversial books had to be purified to abide by the Production Code of 1934.[1] This occurred to many of James Cain’s
The Love Story in James Cain's Mildred Pierce In Mildred Pierce, by James Cain, the novel revolves around some very interesting and universal concepts that seem to be themes in many of his novels. “As in his previous work, the novel revolves around love, money, and sex, but though success is perverse and wish fulfillment destructive, there is no murder” (Gale Group Biography) One most interesting theme is the theme of love and lust, and what drove the characters to their actions, and what
The Relationship Between Mother and Daughter in James Cain’s Mildred Pierce I have always been of the belief that in order to truly love, hate must exist within the core of the relationship. Nowhere in modern fiction is this dictum examined more accurately than in the novel by James Cain, Mildred Pierce. Looking at the concept in a familial context, James Cain has created two well-developed characters, Mildred Pierce and her daughter, Veda, that not only emphasizes the nature of mother-daughter
Love and Hate in James Cain's Mildred Pierce Some may say that the character Mildred Pierce of the novel, Mildred Pierce by James Cain, may be a good role model for an entrepreneur or a single working mother. Some may say that she was hopelessly devoted to her ungrateful daughter, Veda. Some may also argue that Veda was a terrible daughter who lacked compassion, sincerity, and most of all, respect. As true as that may all be, the candlelight glowing about the flawless
and M.R. James' Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad In Susan Hill's introduction to 'The Woman In Black' she mentions M.R. James' short stories as some of the greatest ghost stories ever written. Her appreciation of James' writing is one of the reasons for the many similarities and differences between the two texts. Hill was greatly inspired by the setting of 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' and this results in her novel being a similar reading experience to James' story
prominent medical historian, James McPherson, argues that Civil War doctors “knew of few ways except amputation to stop gangrene” in his book Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. McPherson continues to derail Civil War doctors by dividing them into two separate groups: the radicals, who believed that amputation saved more lives than threatened them, and the conservatives, who tried to save the limb no matter the degree of the wound
When hard-nosed Harold Geneen drove the growth of ITT during its heyday in the 1960s and '70s, he had a blunt management philosophy: "In business, words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises, but only performance is reality." In 2001, when Jim Kilts arrived at Gillette as the first outsider to run the Boston-based company in over 70 years, he found a business with great brands that were losing market share. The company's acquisitions of Duracell and Braun were not delivering
James M. Cain's Novel Mildred Pierce: Comparing the Book and Movie Version Mildred Pierce is one of the greatest novels written by James M. Cain. After the success of the novel, the Hollywood film came out, produced by Jerry Wald. The novel and the movie are very different from each other. “James M. Cain sent several letters of complaint to producer Jerry Wald, objecting to the changes Wald wanted to make, especially the dramatic idea of making Veda a washout musically and putting her in
In 1943, James M. Cain wrote one of his most selling novella “Double Indemnity”. The following year, Billy Wilder, a movie director, with the help of Raymond Chandler, a screenwriter, took the book and adapted it to the big screen while keeping the original title. Eventually, the movie became very popular and nowadays, “Double Indemnity”, widely regarded as a classic, is often considered as a paradigmatic film noir since it has set the standard for films that followed in that genre. The movie adaptation
for a redefinition of its core ideologies and values. During this time, the idea of a quintessential “American family” was once again reinforced after two decades of social strife. Under such historical context, the 1941 novel Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain and its 1945 film adaptation by Michael Curtiz both carries a strong idea that when one, especially a female, tries to disobey their traditional family roles and social etiquettes, undesirable consequences would inevitably follow. However, the
neat pyramid; after food, water, and shelter exist psychological needs, such as the need for love and belonging, self-esteem, and finally, self-actualization, or the realization of one’s full potential. The 1941 hardboiled drama Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain is an exploration of the psyche of its eponymous protagonist as she is deprived of the crucial feeling of being important in the world around her as described by Maslow’s hierarchy. While Mildred Pierce has deluded herself into thinking that pure
of Hell, Inc. plus adding the perfect psychopathic essence. Works Cited Cain, James M. Double Indemnity. New York: Vintage Books, 1936. Print. Chandler, Raymond. Farewell, My Lovely. New York: Vintage Books, 1940. Print Hammett, Dashiell. The Maltese Falcon. New York: Vintage Books, 1930. Print. Works Cited Chandler, Raymond. Farewell, My Lovely. New York: Vintage Books, 1940. Print. Cain, James M. Double Indemnity. New York: Vintage Books, 1936. Print. Hammett, Dashiell. The
Adapted from the novella written by James M. Cain, Double Indemnity is a melodramatic film noir that highlights the conflict its characters face through adultery and murder which develops from the dissatisfaction and alienation that arose in the era of modernity as shown in most noir films. Unlike most noir films, Double Indemnity set the bar in terms of structural themes to follow and elements that eventually came to be considered essential in the noir genre. The film was seen to be a full embodiment
Double Indemnity is a crime novel that was written by author and journalist, James M. Cain. The plot of Double Indemnity is about an insurance salesman by the name of Walter Huff who fell in love with the married woman, Phyllis Nirdlinger. Throughout the novel, both Huff and Nirdlinger pursue their love for each other and faces the drama from everyone around them. The novel was successful enough that Hollywood adapted the book into a film in 1944. The film Double Indemnity would then be directed
point of view is no different from a lens which functions as a filter controlling the audience’s access to certain information about the characters and the plot. It provides a perspective, a directed interpretation that to the events and characters. James M. Cain’s Mildred Pierce and the Michael Curtiz’s film adaptation of the novel are constructed to be multi-layered, interweaving various themes through the story of Mildred Pierce, yet, they both engages and focuses on the position of women in the bourgeois
middle of paper ... ...arch Complete. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. Moorman, Charles. "The Essential Paganism Of Beowulf." Modern Language Quarterly 28.1 (1967): 3. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. Phillips, James. "In The Company Of Predators Beowulf And The Monstrous Descendants Of Cain." Angelaki: Journal Of The Theoretical Humanities 13.3 (2008): 41-52. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Mar. 2012. R.W., Chambers. BEOWULF AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE POEM WITH A DISCUSSION OF THE STORIES