Double Indemnity is a highly influential 1943 crime novel, written by American journalist-turned-novelist James M. Cain. The book was first published in serial form for Liberty magazine in 1936. Following that, Double Indemnity appeared as one of "three long short tales" in the collection Three of a Kind. The novel later served as the basis for the classic film of the same name in 1944, adapted for the screen by fellow hardboiled novelist Raymond Chandler and the director Billy Wilder.