Double Indemnity was filmed as part of the first wave of film noir and became a reference point. Today it still remains one of the best works within the genre alongside films like The Maltese Falcon, Kill, darling or Laura. The success of Wilder's deadly melodrama was the involvement in the scriptwriting of the two key authors: James Cain (adapted from his work) and Raymond Chandler. The film is an explosive concoction of the film noir ingredients: the rotten nature of the lead character, scenes from the dark alleys, retrospective story-telling and irresistible femme fatale (Barbara Stanwyck).