I don't know why, but I didn't enjoy this film. Kudos to those who did and found more in it than I did.
Double Deal from 1950 is a B movie that stars two actors I really like, Richard Denning and Marie Windsor. The story concerns a brother-sister fight; the sister, Lilly (Fay Baker) inherited three wells from dad, while Reno (Carleton Young) inherited one, and so far, it hasn't produced anything.
Reno killed Lilly's fiance in a fight; thus the adversarial relationship. Lilly is a powerful woman, and she wants Reno's well. She doesn't care how she gets it.
Reno is killed, and Terry (Windsor) inherits the well. She hires Buzz (Denning), who has experience with wells, to bring in this one. The two have an obvious attraction to one another.
Double Deal contains sexual innuendo, though you have to read between the lines. Reno and Terry seem to have been sleeping together,. Lilly is either married to or shacked up with a man (James Griffith - kind of a poor man's Zachary Scott). However, it's evident Lilly is sleeping around to get matters concerning the oil business going her way.
The drunken attorney (Taylor Holmes) seems like he's a homeless bum, except he isn't - he has an exotic monkey for a pet, lives in a house, and still conducts business. The monkey, Pipi, at one point emerges a hero.
I love noirs, Denning is rugged and handsome, Windsor a talented actress, and Pipi adorable, but I just couldn't get into this film.