Heel Realization: Walter has one at the end of the film that prompts him to turn himself in.
Have You Told Anyone Else?: Neff to Lola an unusual case in that the character who knows something is not immediately killed for it.
Gut Feeling: Keyes' "little man" who alerts him to any attempted Insurance Fraud.
Grand Staircase Entrance: Our first look at Phyllis, wearing nothing but a towel.
But in two seconds he was curled down on the seat with a broken neck, and not a mark on him except a crease right over his nose, from the crosspiece of the crutch." In the novel, he begins to describe how he used one of the husband's crutches to kill the man, then adds "I won't tell you what I did then.
When Walter kills Phyllis, he does so in a way that avoids showing any blood (with his back to the camera).
The camera pans to Phyllis's face while Neff kills Dietrichson.
Framing Device: Neff's recounting of the story into the dictaphone.
Femme Fatale: Literally Phyllis not only kills her husband and his first wife, but shoots Walter.
Evil Stepmother: Phyllis is revealed to have killed Lola's biological mother and then married herself into the Dietrichson family, later axing off her husband (Lola's father) as well.
The scene is irrelevant to the plot, but it serves to thoroughly introduce Keyes, his methods, his quirks, and his relationship to Neff.
Establishing Character Moment: Keyes' introductory scene, in which he tears apart a guy trying to claim insurance on his truck by revealing that the man had set fire to it himself.
Downer Ending: Obviously given that it stars a Villain Protagonist during the height of the Hays Code.
Double Entendre: Walter and Phyllis exchange many of these.
Deadpan Snarker: Neff and Keyes both do plenty of snarking.
Dead Person Impersonation: Used as part of the murder scheme.
A Deadly Affair: Walter and Phyllis plan to kill Mr.
Danger Takes a Backseat: Justified in that Phyllis, the driver, is part of the murder plot and Walter is hiding back there to kill the passenger.
Creator Cameo: The film's co-screenwriter, Raymond Chandler, appears briefly in one scene.
Contrived Coincidence: Dietrichson just so happening to injure his leg (and subsequently failing to file a claim under the insurance policy he didn't know he had) is what leads to Keyes Spotting the Thread.
Cigar Chomper: Keyes has a cigar in his mouth by the end of nearly every scene he is in.
There is no single accomplice that she doesn't plan to eventually turn on.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Phyllis.
Chiaroscuro: A few scenes of Phyllis and Neff alone together, such as when Phyllis stays at Walter's apartment and when Walter confronts her in the Dietrichson living room.
Chekhov's Gunman: Nino, who at first appears to be nothing more than an excuse for Walter to interact with Lola.
Black Widow: Phyllis is discovered to be this when Neff is told about how she was caught unfazed when her last husband had died in bed before marrying into the Dietrichson family.
Black-and-Gray Morality: The one pure character (Dietrichson's daughter) seems to be the story's The Woobie.
Battleaxe Nurse: Three guesses on who was the nurse taking care of the late first Mrs.
Also Phyllis herself, considering how unpleasant her husband is.
While certainly loudmouthed and obnoxious, it's hinted that a great deal of what Phyllis tells Neff about him is exaggerated or made up in order to get him to go along with her plan.
Apocalyptic Log: Neff's Dictaphone recording, and his diary entries in the original novel.
Heck, you might even feel bad for Phyllis as her conscience/love for Neff catches up to her before she dies.
Alas, Poor Villain: Neff may have been a greedy murderer but his pitiful and tragic demise makes you feel so sorry for him.
Though he does call it off at the last minute and has a Heel Realization. This makes it easy to forget that he's a murderer who killed an innocent man for "money and a woman" and even attempts to frame an innocent person for his crimes.
Affably Evil: Walter is a smooth-talking and charismatic insurance salesman and a very likable and sympathetic protagonist who acts like The Everyman.
Nirdlinger the latter choice was specifically because Chandler and Wilder thought that Nirdlinger was too silly a name for such a serious story.
Adaptation Name Change: Walter Neff was Walter Huff in the novel, and Mr.
When the film was in pre-production, it was Chandler's idea to make Keyes a lovably-passionate Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist, whereas in the novel, he doesn't have nearly as much characterization.
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