Screenwriting 101: James M. Cain

“A thing was said at this story conference that made an impression on me. A young guy named Joe Sistrom was Paramount’s producer on this picture [Double Indemnity]. He was bothered that in the script and to some extent in the book, this guy hit on the scheme for the perfect murder much too quickly and easily. I said that it was implied that he had been subconsciously meditating this for years. Well, this didn’t satisfy Joe. He sat there unhappily in a sulk and then suddenly said, ‘All characters in ‘B’ pictures are too smart.’ I never forgot it. It was a curious observation, putting into words — vivid, rememberable words — a principle that when a character is too smart and convenient to the author’s purposes, everything begins getting awfully slack and slick in the story. Slack is one fault and slick is another. Both are bad faults in story.”

— James M. Cain taken from “Backstory”