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Hannah Keyes
Eric Ames, Andrew Nestingen, Jasmin Krakenberg
German 275 Crime Scenes
28 November 2012
Just Another Cog
The scene Straight Down the Line from Billy Wilders Double Indemnity uses
cinematic codes of sound and mise-en-scene combined to prove that Phyllis is the
dominant character in the scene and that she commands the scenes action. This is seen
through changes in the non-diegetic music cued by Phyllis actions. This conclusion can
also be seen by the contrast in lighting on Phyllis versus on Walter and on the shadows
that they cast.
Miklos Razsa score in this scene begins as quiet background music, a romantic
score to match the romantic shots with which the scene opens. The first shot in this
sequence shows Walter and Phyllis sitting on opposite ends of the couch, Walter reclined
and Phyllis sitting up lighting a cigarette. This romantic score continues as Phyllis rises
to put on her coat, and then returns to Walters side on the couch. The lovers embrace
and agree that they will go through with the murder of Mr. Diedrickson. Still at this point
the underlying music is romantic, dramatic, yet it does not yet reflect the murderous
decision that has been made. It is when Phyllis stands for the second time to leave and
turns her back to the camera that the undertone begins to change, signifying a change in
the tone of the scene. There is no going back once both have agreed to the murder, and
the music reflects this, as it grows increasingly deeper and slower, until the romantic tune
is completely gone.

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Phyllis exit from the scene marks a dramatic change in the score, making the
point that romance is gone from the relationship, it has been replaced by violence and
there is no return to the relative innocence of their initial affair. Walter is left in the room
alone, and as he walks across the empty room to his window the music builds until he
reaches and opens the window. It is at this point that diegetic ambient sounds, other than
their voices, are first heard. On the street, out of the shot, the sound of a car starting and
pulling away marks Walters final line in this sequence That was it Keyes, the
machinery had started to move and nothing could stop it. This connection is a significant
one; the synchronization of the sound of the car (the machinery) with Walters declaration
alludes to the Fordian references throughout the film. In the world of the assembly line
Walter is just another cog, a part of the machinery directed by Phyllis. The sound of the
car is significant, and Wilder leaves the viewer with the assumption that the car belongs
to Phyllis, holding to this assumption, Phyllis is once more coded as the commander of
action in this sequence.
Looking once again to the opening shot of the Straight Down the Line
sequence, this time with a focus on lighting, the placement of the single light source in
the room is crucial. Walter lays reclined on the left of the screen on the couch, a mostly
dark figure. Phyllis sits on the right under the lamp, bathed in light and blocking Walters
access to the light. This setup visually explains the dynamic between Walter and Phyllis
in this sequence; Walter is in the shadow cast by Phyllis.
A cursory view of this sequence might bring the reading that Walter is the bad or
sinister character, positioned on the left of the screen, a side typically associated with
evil, and constantly in the shadows. Phyllis, by this same reading, is the figure in white

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glowing, a source of light in an otherwise dark room. A deeper reading into this
sequence, however, uncovers the underlying meaning of the lighting. Phyllis sits in the
light and casts a shadow on Walter. This lighting parallels her role in criminalizing the
straight and narrow insurance salesman, convincing him to kill her husband.
When Walter makes the declaration that he will help Phyllis to kill her husband,
he is still positioned on the couch, this time with Phyllis sitting close to him, nearly in a
lovers embrace. Here the single lamp is positioned behind Phyllis, causing a glow around
her hair again making her appear to be a good, angel-like force. In this shot, however,
Phyllis once more casts her shadow across Walter, this time covering the left side of his
face in shadow.
This recurring pattern, Phyllis casting the shadow, develops further when Phyllis
leaves Walters apartment. Standing in the doorway both Walter and Phyllis are partly in
the shadows, her darker side finally visualized as they acknowledge that they are together
now straight down the line. Phyllis exits the room into the lit hallway, leaving Walter
alone in the room now to cast him own shadow. Walters doom became sealed with
Phyllis when she left, and he now shares her power to cast shadows. The camera follows
him as he turns from the closed door and begins to walk across the room.
The following shot, one of Walter from behind, walking towards the window,
captures his new role as shadow-caster. He notices that the rug is out of place, and kicks
it back in line, and at this moment Walters shadow appears on the wall. This doubling
by mean of shadow references Phylliss lasting impact on him. Walter now has a dark
side that comes out in his shadow. When Walter reaches the window he opens it and

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looks out, the shot now shows him from the outside looking in. Walter looks onto a lit
street from a lit room, but his face and body are completely in the dark.
The lighting technique used in this scene - commonly referred to as chiaroscuro
lighting - is an adaptation to film noir of the painting style popularized by the sixteenth
century painter Caravaggio. This style employs extremes in light and dark, the word
coming from the roots chiaro meaning clear or light and oscuro meaning obscure or
dark. This extreme painting style quickly became a key element of the film noir genre.
The juxtaposition of the clear or light with the obscure or dark in this lighting style is
exactly what makes the sequence Straight Down the Line so fruitful with possible
interpretation.
Chiaroscuro lighting enhances the argument that Phyllis is the dominant and a
wildly deceptive character by creating a stark contrast between the light that she revels in
and the shadow that she casts. As mentioned earlier, Phyllis sits in the light while Walter
sits in her shadow. With this new reading, Phyllis can be seen to cast a shadow of
obscurity upon Walter, muddying his perception of what is right and good. It is the
obscuring of the line between right and wrong, symbolized by Phyllis shadow over
Walter, that convinces Walter to go through with the murder of Mr. Diedrickson.
Though actions and dialogue in this sequence cast Walter as the commanding
force, the subtle lighting and sound cues assure the viewer that Phyllis is indeed in
control. This is significant as these codes could be used to prove that Phyllis is indeed
the femme fatale famous in the film noir genre. This argument deserves much more
discussion, but on the simplest note it can and should be said that the lighting and sound

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in this sequence cast Phyllis as the deceptive, obscure, and dazzling her glow femme
fatale.