Customer Reviews

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Postman's plot centers around drifter Frank, and his relationship with the beautiful Cora. Cora and husband, Nick, run the Twin Oaks -- a roadside service station/diner -- and Nick has hired Frank to help around the place. Cora and Nick are May/December, but there is no romance whatsover between them. The reason for their marriage is cryptically revealed during one scene, but, in the end, one never can quite figure out why they are together. Frank and Cora quickly fall for each other and desire a life together -- a desire that requires removing Nick from the picture. The urgency reaches fever pitch when Nick announces his intention to sell the diner and move Cora to nothern Canada where she will care for Nick's recently paralyzed sister, who, in Nick's words, is going to live for a long time. As other reviewers have mentioned, the DA and defense attorney stand out in this film as well-conceived characters, the defense attorney played to perfection by Hume Cronyn.

Over the years, Postman has been lauded as perhaps the quintessential piece of film noir -- an intentionally bleak genre that experienced its heyday in the forties and fifties. Although Postman is undoubtedly a precise work of film noir, it's reputation may be based as much on it's mold-shattering relationship with MGM as on its artistic merit. Released by MGM, Postman was so far out of character for the studio that MGM had to borrow John Garfield to cast the leading role. That said, one is hard pressed to envision Frank as having been played by anyone other than Garfield. The same can't be said for Lana Turner's Cora, though. Yet, while other actresses may admirably have filled Cora's sultry shoes, Turner does indeed sizzle in this role. Both Garfield and Turner play their parts to perfection -- their acting is simply terrific. Somehow, though, the chemistry between the two leaves a little something wanting. For me, this was underscored by the instant chemistry that exists between Frank/Garfield and the "other woman" he picks up at the train station during Lana/Cora's absence. That said, the little something that is wanting between Turner and Gerfield contributes, in its own way, to the bleakness of the plot.

Technically, the dvd presentation of Postman is quite good. The transfer here is not as pristine as other Warner releases and there are digital artifacts and noise noticeable in many scenes. However, they are not severe enough in effect or number to detract from the film. Although the audio on this dvd is fine, the score for Postman is really just mediocre. Heavy on suspense motifs, one is left feeling as though they've heard much of this music before. The highlight of the dvd is the Garfield documentary that Warner has included as an extra. For fans of the noir genre, and for fans of Garfield in particular, this extra transforms a good dvd into a must-own dvd.

All things considered, this is a title for confirmed noir fans, and, for them, it is highly recommended. Even if you're not a noir fan, though, Postman is a work of broader cultural significance and is well worth owning even if its the only noir on your shelf.

This is one of the classic movies of Lana Turner that no one should miss. Lana Turner herself admitted that this is her career best, and she enjoyed doing this film. Director Tay Garnett fully exploited the youth and beauty of Lana Turner in presenting her to the viewers as young Cora Smith married to a middle aged cook stuck in a roadside diner. The movie revolves around young Cora who refuses to cheat on her husband; slowly but steadily she falls under the seductive influence of a young drifter, and very soon she will be plotting the murder of her husband with her lover. Part of the movie was set near beaches in Malibu, Santa Monica and other parts of Southern California. It is really enjoyable to see the unspoiled beauty of Southern California beaches of mid 1940s. If you are remotely interested in Lana Turner's movies and career; this is the first movie you should be watching.

Great black and white photography
Excellent tension between Garfield and Turner.
Great storyline.
If you start watching this film you won't be able to stop.

I have always thought Lana Turner is fun to watch but sometimes of I find her performances -over the top- but,
she is pitch perfect in this film. With her whiter than white hair and clothes she seems like the unattainable female. She works in this greasy spoon but she is incredibly groomed and perfectly desirable to the drifter played by John Garfield.

My favorite scene is when she and John Garfield leave together the and then decide to return. Lana's character explains her motivations--the dialogue and her delivery seem so real and you sympathize with her character (a woman who plots to kill her husband!)

I also like the setting of early Southern California...orange groves and empty beaches.

This is a must see film

It always annoyed me that men like Claude Rains could marry Ingrid Bergman or Bette Davis in the movies and get away with it smoothly, with hardly a ripple. But, Cecil Kelleway marrying Lana Turner? Give me a break! Heck, Stan Laurel or Oliver Hardy could have come out of retirement to woo Turner away, while John Garfield could have been an "extra", carting Kelleway's body away. In any event, it's a reallly good, fast paced movie; as much an indictment of the legal system as it is of the crime of murder itself. Look for a very young Hume Cronyn to give an outstanding performance as an unscrupulous lawyer, while District Attorney Leon Ames seems to be continually in the right place at the wrong time (or vice-versa). Director Tay Garnett insisted on dressing Turner in white, thus effectively highlighting her natural beauty. Warning- this is a movie full of twists and quick reversals of fortune. You'll likely become completely lost, even in one refrigerator break. Stay put and enjoy!

Cora (Lana Turner) is a very beautiful and frustrated woman, married to middle aged fry cook, Nick (Cecil Kellaway), residing with him in a small town that seems way too small for her tastes. Enter Frank (John Garfield), a handsome loner, who arrives at their door, one day. Cora and Frank are instantly drawn to each other, of course. The problem that stands in their way is her husband. What a pesky problem! Together, the two plot to murder Nick, so they can be together. Of course, this does not go according to plan.

This grizzly, sexually charged story said so much with so little (back at a time when even depicting "so little" granted you a firm rap on the knuckles from the MPAA censorship board). Lana Turner glows in a series of white ensembles that she clearly fills out quite pleasingly. What's more, no one ever made lipstick look so sexy before. In fact, Lana Turner's character made lipstick even more popular, after this film came out! Just a little trivia. The acting is wonderful, the plot is engrossing and there is a delicious feeling of dark forboding from this film, one of the best example of sexy film noir (literally, "black film") stories ever! This puts the murder mysteries of today to shame.

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" was based on the novel by James M. Cain, whose work inspired several quintessential film noirs. Frank Chambers (John Garfield) tells us his story in voice-over narration as it plays out on the screen. Frank was a drifter who never could stand to stay in one place for long. While hitchhiking to no particular destination one day, he stops at a roadside diner that happens to be looking for hired help. Encouraged by the affable proprietor Nick (Cecil Kellaway) and intrigued by his beautiful young wife Cora (Lana Turner), Frank takes the job. Cora is aloof at first, always enlisting Nick's help in improving the business, for which she has some ambition. But Nick and Cora's mutual attraction is eventually more than they can resist, and they plan to run away together. But Cora is unwilling to condemn herself to a penniless existence, having invested so much energy in her husband's diner. And her situation becomes desperate when Nick decides Cora should spend her days taking care of his invalid sister. So the two lovers plan a murder that will net them the business and the freedom to be together.

This is a wonderful role for John Garfield, who excelled at playing street smart tough guys. Frank is an uneducated man, not really very smart, who has a callousness to his character as well as a genuine earnestness. Garfield's mannerism, speech, and intensity get all of this across. Frank is unscrupulous, but genuinely in love with Cora. Or perhaps love-hate. Lana Turner looks fabulous. She's not much of a character actress, but she's believable here as an icy blond, an ambitious woman who nevertheless has a soft spot and great passion for this unlikely vagabond. Hume Croyn steals the scenes that he 's in, as Cora's clever, unprincipled lawyer, Mr. Keats. "The Postman Always Rings Twice" comes down harder on the legal profession than it does on the criminals. Neither Mr. Keats nor the District Attorney (Leon Ames) have any concern at all for finding the truth. Courtroom battles are competitions among themselves, fought for their personal interests. But Keats couldn't be sharper. "The Postman Always Rings Twice" is a great film noir that incorporates the femme fatale and amour fou traditions with a heavy dose of fatalism. It's also sexy, entertaining, and has a few surprises.

The DVD (Warner Brothers 2004 release): There is an "Introduction by Richard Jewell" (5 minutes) in which the film historian and USC professor talks about the film's cast, performances, and highlights. I don't recommend watching it before viewing the film, since it contains some spoilers. The "Behind-the-Scenes Image Gallery" is a slideshow of movie stills and publicity shots for the film. "The John Garfield Story" (1 hour) is the main attraction among the bonus features. This is a documentary about John Garfield, produced by Turner Entertainment Co. and narrated by Garfield's daughter, Julie Garfield. It follows Garfield's life from his birth to poor immigrants in Manhattan's Lower East Side, through his success in New York theater, his arrival in Hollywood in 1938 that began his long contract to Warner Brothers studio, to his death in 1952 at the age of 39, shortly after being blacklisted in Hollywood and hounded by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Julie Garfield's narration is interesting and sympathetic. There are many interviews with John Garfield's contemporaries and admirers. It's an interesting documentary about a talented and sometimes fiercely independent actor. There are also theatrical trailers for the film and for the 1981 remake (both 2 1/2 minutes). Subtitles are available for the film in English, Spanish, and French. Dubbing is available in French.

Lana Turner and John Garfield hunger for something more in Tay Garnett's glossy soap opera noir, "The Postman Always Rings Twice." Based on James M. Cain's lusty potboiler, Turner is fantastic as the manipulative yet vulnerable Cora Smith and Garfield excellent as the drifter who can't get Cora or her dreams out of his blood. Turner is like a white creme, icy cold on the surface but burning hot and deep with desire underneath.

Cora is a girl aware of her looks and effect on men. Since she was 14 she's had to argue with men about it. But she didn't have to argue with Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway), a much older man Cora marries for security, not love. When drifter Frank Chambers (Grafield) shows up to fill the help wanted sign at the Twin Oaks Diner Nick and Cora run, she discovers she can't live without love or passion.

Cora is a smouldering vision in white when Frank first sees her, a room full of gas that only needs a spark to ignite. Frank knows he can sell anything to anybody and begins to fan the flames when he talks Nick into getting a neon sign for the diner Cora wants. Cora has big dreams for the diner and wants to be somebody. She tries in her own way to resist what is going to happen between she and Frank but deep down knows that all the things she married Nick for and clings to are the things she really wants with Frank.

Cora lets him kiss her once then stays away, working Frank into an internal frenzy of desire. After a midnight swim in the ocean they get a week alone and their fate is sealed, the gas ignited and burning out of control. It is Cora who lets Frank's lust simmer until he loves her and wants her so much nothing matters, not even what stands in the way of them and Cora's dreams.

Garfield is excellent as a guy who knows he's signed on for a one way ride to nowhere but can't help himself, because the mere thought of sharing the ride with Cora tips the scales. There is a tricky D.A. (Leon Ames) onto them after a botched first attempt to live out Cora's dreams fails and only a crafty defense attorney, portrayed with zeal by Hume Cronyn, gets Cora off when they finally succeed. But an insurance policy Frank didn't know about causes distrust and the results are Cora and Frank on the outs again.

But they are chained to each other. Jealousy and a blackmail attempt gone awry bring them back to the beach where they were happy. A dangerous swim to prove their trust in each other restores their love and they are happy and dreaming once again. They may be able to atone for their sins even, unless fate has other plans....

Turner gives an icy hot performance here, with many long takes between she and Garfield as they are drawn to each other like moths to a flame. Much is made of director Tay Garnett framing Turner in sexy white outfits throughout the film. Her best scene, however, and the one in which she is the most strikinginly beautiful, she is dressed in a black bathrobe. Cora is in the kitchen caressing a knife and agonizing over her dreams and what needs to be done to make them come true. When Frank walks in on her, her voice catches, her reluctance to follow through real. She tells Garfield in a quivering voice, "If you really loved me."

Whereas Wilder's Double Indemnity was a dark noir of twisted passion and greed set in Claifornia, Garnett's The Postman Always Rings Twice uses the bright sunshine and beaches of L.A. County in the 1940's to create a soap opera noir, a shining blonde Turner and a reluctant drifter Garfield at its center. A must for Turner fans and good pick for fans of this genre who want to watch a glossy noir.

Garfield and Turner were outstanding in this version. Easy to see why they were both very hot at the box office. I felt this film exhibited the best acting, each of them did. Kellaway also does an excellent job.

So much potential. This could have been a great movie. Scene after scene the viewer is swept along with the momentum, only to find that the final scenes are empty, void of any motivation to watch, except in knowing that the end is near. Weakness in the `legal' aspects would have been insignificant, if only the story had been properly concluded. Lana Turner and John Garfield were masterful. The turns of emotion between contempt and fear and love and hate were brilliantly portrayed. The characterizations were real, Turner beautiful and desirable, Garfield believable as a drifter, as a handy-man, and as Turner's love interest. Yes, the DA was too brilliant and the motorcycle cop too stupid - both minor characters - most of the supporting cast was superb.

The emotional tension is kept at a fever pitch until the final scenes, and then a total and complete let down. This movie should have ended at the final calamity. There was nothing more to be said, unfortunately, much more was.

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" 1946 film

Frank is hitchhiking from San Francisco; he doesn't worry about his future. He knows how to fix cars. The restaurant owner hires him, and Frank sees Cora in her sun bathing outfit. Cora wants to make something of the restaurant. Frank admires her. The hot Santa Anna wind is blowing in from the desert [this affects people's emotions]. Frank and Cora dance to the music in the jukebox. [What was Nick thinking?] Frank and Cora go swimming in the ocean, they become friendlier. Nick is worried about being cheated by the laundry service, the butcher, and what else? Frank and Cora try to run away, but Cora has second thoughts. She wants something more.

Nick's driving causes a near accident. [This tells about their traffic laws.] What if something really bad happened? There is a near miss when Nick returns and finds the suitcases. Cora explains how things would be much better for them if Nick wasn't around. Cora gets an idea from a magazine, but fate throws a detour into their plans. [How many others read that same article?] Curiosity kills another cat. Frank leaves for Los Angeles, but later Nick finds him and brings him back, a surprise for Cora. [Note the old two-button light switches.] Nick will sell "Twin Oaks" and retire to his sister's place so Cora can nurse his sister. This is a great shock to Cora, she does not want to retire. So now they will take steps to plan their future. But the best-laid plans of mice and men still go awry. Accidents are always investigated. The police know what to look for, like Cora's handbag.

Frank is surprised to hear about the insurance policy on Nick. District Attorney Sackett tries to turn Frank against Cora. Now the courts will decide. There is a shocking surprise at the arraignment, and again when Cora meets Frank. [This is the high point of the film.] Cora's lawyer, Arthur Keats, shows his skills, and we see how a plea bargain works. Keats explains his strategy; it works. Could a restaurant get a lot of business because of the notoriety of the owner? There is a new twist in this story for Cora and Frank. [But they don't want us to tell the ironic ending.] "What's the use?"
The book is better than the film in explaining the insurance settlement.