Walter Huff is an insurance salesman, who visit mr. and mrs. Nirdlinger to inform mr. Nirdlinger that his insurance expires in two weeks and has to be renewed. Mrs. Nirdlinger answers the door and tells mr. Huff that her husband isn't in, they talk about insurance and the automobile club. Mrs. Nirdlinger asks about accident insurance which mr. Huff tells her they don't offer, they talk a little more and they agree that mr. Huff will contact mr. Nirdlinger the following day - Mr. Huff returns to the company and he talks with Keyes about a burned truck, whos owner wants to collect payment for, however they think he burned it himself, mr. Huff made a memo explaining why he thinks that and after his conversation with Keyes he looks at the memo, he thinks about what kind of warning he is going to clip in his application

Chapter 2

Walter Huff and mrs. Nirdlinger is having tea as mrs. Nirdlinger send for him, they are talking about many things including insurance and mr. Ling a Chinese grocer, mr. Nirdlinger isn't home, mr. huff comments on mrs. Nirdlingers freckles and how he thinks they are beautiful. Mr. Huff wants to talk with mr. Nirdlinger about insurance especially accident insurance, but mrs. Nirdlinger doesn't want to, although she say she is worried about him. Mr. Huff gets up to leave and on his way he grabs mrs. Nirdlinger and kisses her, she kisses him back, they like each other. Mr. Huff lives in a bungalow in the Loz Feliz hills the bell rings and outside is mrs. Nirdlinger they sit down by the fire and talk. mrs. Nirdlinger has a stepdaughter Lola who is 19. Mrs. Nirdlinger loves her husband, mr. Huff starts talking about accidents that aren't accidents and how it would happen to mr. Nirdlinger, mrs. Nirdlinger tells him to stop, but he keeps going, mrs. Nirdlinger tries to walk of and does it at last. Mrs. Nirdlinger came back the next day and they talked about mr. Nirdlinger again and how something would happened but it didn't happen but it did however happen. Mrs. Nirdlinger gets the point and after some convincing she realises that she wants what didn't happen to happen without getting caught, they decide to plan a murder on mr. Nirdlinger together, but they have to do it right.

Chapter 3

Mr. Huff and mr. Nirdlinger discuss insurance and after mr. nirdlinger signes the insurance papers, mr. Huff switches to accident insurance, mr. Nirdlinger don't seem all that interested, but mr. Huff use all his best salesman techniques to try and sell him on the double indemnity insurance policy, and he ends up signing for it. Phyllis bring in a witness as she was told to, she brings in her stepdaughter Lola, which mr. Huff was surprised about, he don't like planning out how to murder Lolas father in front of her, after they are done with the insurance, mr. Huff drives Lola to a picture show, but instead of going to that, she asks mr. Huff to pick up her friend at the drugstore, the picked up mr. sachetti and drove further down to the boulevard, he stopped at Hollywood and vine, they got out, mr. Huff drove home, and within half an hour Phyllis got there, mr. Huff lied to Phyllis about Lola meeting with someone, mrs. Nirdlinger then said that mr. Sachetti is a terrible person, they continue to talk but now about why the witness had to be Lola, mrs. Nirdlinger didn't think much of it, but it bugged mr. Huff

Chapter 4

• Mr. Huff and mrs. Nirdlinger found the perfect opportunity for the murder and story

• Mr. Huff and mrs. Nirdlinger plan how to get mr. Nirdlinger on the train

• Mr. Nirdlinger breaks his leg - makes an opportunity to get him on the train even though he didn't want to

Chapter 5

• Walter calls back and forth to his department and asks for something he forgot

• Walter hides in the back of the car, while Phyllis is driving and Mr Nirdlinger is sitting in the passenger seat

• At the end of the chapter, Walter and Phyllis kill Mr Nirdlinger in the car.

Chapter 6

• Phyllis and Walter continues to set. up their alibis

• They continued the plan and Walter acted in mr. Nirdlingers place and got on the train

• Walter jumped of the train

Chapter 7

• Walter had jumped of the train to makes it appear as if mr. Nirdlinger fell of the train and broke his neck

• Walter and Pyllis plant the body on the tracks

• They argue in the car

• Walter had difficulty settling after the murder

Chapter 8

• The story about mr. Nirdlinger was published

• The investigation starts

• Mr. Norton and Keyes don't believe it was an accident and decides to not pay the double indemnity upfront but let Phyllis sue

• Walter tells Phyllis that she has to sue for the money

Chapter 9

• Walter and Lola talks about how Lolas mother died and how she thinks that Phyllis did it and now also killed her father

• Walter finds a memo from Keyes saying that he think Walter is innocent and that Lola doesn't need to be observed, but that mr. Sachetti has been coming to Phyllis multiple time

• Lola thinks mr. Sachetti is Phyllis accomplice

• Walter find out that he loves Lola

Chapter 10

• Phyllis mindset is ready for court

• Lola finds out that mr. Sachetti had nothing to do with her fathers death

• Lola is set on taking Phyllis down by going to the police with her information as well as going there herself, but Walter says its a bad idea

• Lola cannot be stopped

Chapter 11

• Walter plans to kill phyllis

• Phyllis shoots Walter before he got around to kill her

Chapter 12

• Walter wakes up in the hospital

• Keyes and Walter talk about him and the case

• Keyes wants to know what Walter knows, since he became a target

• Walter admits killing mr. Nirdlinger to Keyes

Chapter 13

• Walter wants to spare Lola

• Keyes is trying to help Walter

• Keyes calls Phyllis a pathological case

• Keyes, Norton and a big lawyer Keswick came to discuss Walters case

• Keyes and Walter make a plan for him to escape while Keyes gets a written statement from him

• Lola came to see Walter

Chapter 14

• The book is the statement that Walter wrote

• Walter is on a ship towards nowhere

• Phyllis is on the ship

• Lola and Nino got married

• Walter and Phyllis is talking about jumping ship

• The first chapter takes place at Mr and Mrs Nirdlinger's house and the office at Claim Department

Chapter 2:

• The second chapter takes place at Walter Huff's place

Chapter 3:

• The third chapter takes place at Mr and Mrs Nirdlingers house

Chapter 4:

• The fourth chapter takes place in different settings. He is at his office and at his home

Chapter 5:

• The fifth chapter takes place at San Pedro Street, at his office, his house and Hollywoodland

Chapter 6:

• The sixth chapter takes place at the platform

Chapter 7:

• The seventh chapter takes place outside the train

  
  

Chapter 8:

• The eight chapter takes place at Keyes office and Nortons office

  
  

Chapter 9:

• The ninth chapter takes place at Walters private office

  
  

Chapter 10:

• Walter meets up with Lola at different places

  
  

Chapter 11:

• Huff working at the finance company and then Phyllis and Huff's shooting date at Griffith Park

Chapter 12 + 13:

• Huff is in the hospital

Chapter 14:

• Huff and Phyllis on the ship

• Renewal = fornyelse/udskiftning

• Patio = gårdhave

• Velvet = fløjl/velour

• Tapestry = tapet

• Fidelity = troskab

• Courteous = høflig

• Peevish = irriteret

• Quarrel = uenighed

• Feud = strid

Chapter 2

• Washed-out = forvasket

• Fortune = skæbne

• Pleats = plissere

• Allowance = tildeling

• Red-hot poker = en slags blomst

• Peeping = kigge

• A scarlet shroud = skarlagensrødt klæde

• Audacity = dristighed

• Bold = fræk

• Hedge = hegn

• Croupier = dealer

Chapter 3

• Shiver = ryste

• Solemnly = højt og helligt

• Dissertation = afhandling

• Correspond = korrespondere

• Alleged = påstået

• Hooey = vrøvl

• Stub = stump

Chapter 4

• Proposition = forslag/tilbud

• Persuade = overtale

• Booklet = brochure

Chapter 5

• Liability = ansvar

• Iron rod = jernstang

• Bulged = bulet

• Hippopotamus = flodhest

• Cusswords = bandeord

• Hobbling = halte

Chapter 6

• Audacity = dristighed

• Harness = seletøj

• Berths = køje

Chapter 7

• Fender

• Vacant = tom

• Raved = fable

• Lunatic = vanvittig

• Wail = klage

Chapter 8

• Peevish = irriteret

• Whirl = virvel

• Autopsy

• Verdict = dom/afgørelse

Chapter 9

• Agony

• Pulmonary diseases = lungesygdom

• Trudged = trave

• Wrought = forarbejdet

• Devoted = hengiven

• Instinctively = instinktivt

Chapter 10

• Faze = hyle ud af den

• Shroud

• Frocks = kjole/dragt

Chapter 11

• Errand = ærinde

• Repossess = tilbagetage

• Hooey = sludder

• Deliberately

• ushers = retsbetjent

Chapter 12

• Grazed = strejfe

• Ether = æter

Chapter 13

• Executrix = kvindelig eksekutor

• Hilt = fæste

• Solemn = højtidelig

• Consent = samtykke

Chapter 14

• Expense = udgift/bekostning

• Walter is racing to the office, he stumbles in and begin the memo

How is it different from the novella? Be specific. You might have to re-read the beginning of the novella.

• In the book Walter pays Mr. Nirdlinger a visit, but he is not home so it is Mrs. Nirdlinger that Walter talks to.

Which one do you prefer? Elaborate your answer.

• We prefer the opening scene from the movie, because we like that we know how it ends and then there are flashbacks.

• No, they seem more flirty in the movie than in the book and it didn’t seem fitting.

Are they different?

• Walter is named Neff and not Huff

• Walter and Phyllis flirt from the get-go, while they develop their feelings in the book and not from the start - in the book Walter thinks more than he’s saying, so he doesn’t make her pay attention to, if he likes her or not.

What happens in the final scene of the film?

• Walter tries to run, but collapse in the doorway, Keyes calls an ambulance and goes to Walter, Walter takes out a cigarette and Keyes lights it.

How is it different from the novella? Be specific. You might have to re-read the end of the novella.

• In the book: Walter and Phyllis are on the ship and they plan to commit suicide

• In the movie: Phyllis shoots Walter, then he shoots her and he’s found by Keyes, who calls the ambulance

Which one do you prefer? Elaborate your answer.

• We would pick the movie ending because we see what happens, whereas in the book we don’t really know, we can only imagine.

• In the novella, he seems more masculine and big, related to his looks

• In the movie he doesn’t talk like he is described in the book - he’s not that aggressive in his communication

“The little man” – What is this?

• His fears,worries, his suspicious feels, his skeptical version of him