Kris Jones' Double Indemnity
It has been said that film noir is not a genre, but I couldn't disagree more. I find it pretty interesting that there are people who would actually argue against the fact that film noir is, in fact, a genre all its own. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word genre as "a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content." Now, if film noir isn't characterized by a particular style and/or form, I'm not sure what is. Film noir is a type of media defined by its stylish sense of mystery, cleverness, and underlying sexuality, and just the fact that several films could be categorized under this definition is sufficient evidence to the contrary of the statement.
I think Double Indemnity did a wonderful job promoting the idea of a "Femme Fatale" in a time when women were not necessarily seen as powerful characters both on screen and off. Phyllis was a very strong woman who initially rejected Walter's sexual advances in a battle of wits. She later drove Walter crazy enough to devise a criminal murder scheme in order to collect life insurance money, and most importantly, she played the Bonnie to Walter's Clyde in the execution of the plan. She is the epitome of a Femme Fatale, the strong, smart female which was unheard of at the time.