MovieChat Forums > Pushover (1954) Discussion > Semi-nifty knock-off of DOUBLE INDEMNITY

Semi-nifty knock-off of DOUBLE INDEMNITY

posted 17 years ago by donofthedial
8 replies | jump to latest

Says no one but me in all this time?

Just saw it tonight and it has its moments, but for the most part it's DI ten years later and not as good in any aspect.

FM plays a good cop who goes bad once he gets a taste of Kim Novak and realizes he can bag her and the 210K already bagged by her b/f killer/bank robber.

There are touches of DI all overt this film. E.G. Marshall has a EG Robinson type role as EGR did in DI.

Lots of skulking around in an apartment house as the cops are on a stakeout.

Twists and turns through-out.

Nice to see Dorothy Malone in something fairly early.

Fred MacMurray looks a bit beefy and tired in this one.

It's a thoughtful back and white film noir with many Los Angeles settings with much of the film taking place at night....with some rain thrown in for good measure.

It's worth a view or two, but there was no masterpiece made as there was a decade earlier with DOUBLE INDEMNITY.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 12 years ago

Yes, it's definitely similar to Double Indemnity. Personally, I really like both movies. Fred MacMurray was great in this sort of role.

~~
Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER

[–] retroman2 12 years ago

And if you can find it, there's an outright steal of Double Indemnity called Apology for Murder (1945) with Ann Savage in the Stanwyck role and Hugh Beaumont in the MacMurray role. It's from poverty row studio PRC, so it's a real B cheapie, but is very interesting. They had to withdraw it from circulation after being threatened with a lawsuit from Paramount.

[–] donofthedial 12 years ago

Apology for Murder - does it now circulate? It would be interesting to see...especially for Hugh Beaumont in a non Beaver role.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 11 years ago

Thanks! Sounds like a good one! I wish that they would just release it, even if it's similar to Double Indemnity.

~~
JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen

[–] retroman2 11 years ago

It's unlikely it will ever be released due to legal issues. However, it can be obtained from collectors, though the print quality is not very good.

[–] djrumback 11 years ago

Agree with you Donofthedial. Watching Pushover, one gets dizzy keeping track of how it keeps swerving between Double Indemnity, Vertigo and Rear Window, while failing to match any of them.

Like Double Indemnity: Fred MacMurray goes astray trying to dodge the suspicions of his boss and co-workers, helps free the girl from an unwanted Significant Other by killing and concealing their dead bodies. We even see FM put a slip of paper into the ally door, similar to the paper he places in DI's doorbell to secure his alibi.

Like Rear Window: The protagonist spends much of the film upstairs spying on people across a courtyard (with McAlister, like James Stewart in RW, viewing / comparing different female subjects as marital possibilities.) And both films eventually move the action from the voyeurs' site into the actual apartments they have been monitoring.

Like Vertigo: Both protagonists spend repeated, wordless sequences in cars tailing a glassy-eyed Kim Novak (the shots are composed similarly in both films) and end up nesting in the protagonists' pads, unbeknownst to the respective employers who are funding the surveillance.

In fairness, Pushover and Rear Window both released in 1954, and Vertigo 1958, so I guess Pushover didn't borrow from Hitch. The similarities are merely ironic and give rise to unfortunate comparisons.

[–] donofthedial 11 years ago

Good points, mate!

btw - a clip from APOLOGY FOR MURDER is on youtube.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 11 years ago

There's also the 1950 movie The Man Who Cheated Himself, in which a cop witnesses his girlfriend kill her husband and he tries to cover for her. That storyline makes me think of both Double Indemnity and Pushover: someone in a position of power and trust abuses it to help a "dame".

~~
JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen