When the frustrated housewife Phyllis catches wind of a ‘double indemnity’ insurance policy in which she can receive double the pay-out for the accidental death of her husband, she seduces Walter to commit murder. Set in pre-war 1938 California, the narrative revolves around the relationship between the scheming femme fatale house wife Phyllis, and brash insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray). Cain’s novel of the same name, Billy Wilder’s noir classic brought audiences one of the most memorable villainesses in Phyllis Dietrichson, profoundly brought to life by Golden Age actress Barbra Stanwick. Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbra Stanwick) – Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944) With this list, I will be visiting the most memorable, profound, deadly and iconic femme fatales to ever grace the silver screen.ġ. With that being said, the femme fatale has transcended beyond the film noir movement, and has become a prominent fixture in an American film industry that thrives on post-modernism and pastiche.

In film noir, the femme fatale would often be embodied in the form of a housewife/mistress, possessing the ability to lure men into fatal situations through her cunning sexuality, idiosyncratic tendencies and (often) underestimated intellect, all while challenging traditional gender conventions, and social constructs. However, it was the film noir movement of the early 1940s – late 1950s, of which the archetype is most synonymous in pop-culture. The presence of the archetype in American cinema, goes all the way back to the silent era, with actresses such as Theda Bara and Helen Gardner often embodying femme fatale conventions. The characterisations of femme fatale’s such as Phyllis Dietrichson (Double Indemnity) and Matty Walker (Body Heat), are as enigmatic as they are entertaining, while part of the fun for the viewer is to analyse their behaviour on repeat viewings, looking for the earliest signs of endangerment in hindsight. Through the femme fatale, audiences are often taken on a ride of contrivance and deception, yet they come back for more, because unlike your conventional antagonist, the femme fatale requires a certain mystique. Modern incarnations of the architype, such as Denise Richards’ seductive portrayal of Kelly Van Ryan in Wild Things, or Famke Jansen’s turn as the perilous Bond villainess, Xenia Onatopp in Golden Eye, have reminded audiences of the femme fatale’s cinematic potential. Regardless, the notion of the beautiful, empowered, and deadly woman, remains a profound one when executed well.

The presence of the femme fatale (or fatal woman in English) in contemporary American cinema is not as prominent now as it once was in the Golden Age.

Seduce & Atone by Elisia M. Blade