[Inspector Abberline]

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

As soon as John Garfields character gets dropped of outside the diner belonging to Lana Turner and her husband Nick played by Cecil Kellaway, and Garfield first lays eyes on Turner it’s not hard to see why Garfields character is instantly infatuated with Lana Turner. Of course there is always some sort of obstacle and its usually in the form of a husband, and it’s the classic older man with a trophy wife. Lana Turner as Cora has to be one of the sexiest screen performances in Noir cinema history, she is not the classic femme fatale, as her character Cora is seemingly trapped in a loveless marriage and see’s Frank as her way of escaping her hum drum existence. Of course when she suggests that they kill her husband after a remark that Frank had made, you do wonder if she plotting all this for her own selfish reasons or whether she really is in love with Frank. John Garfield gives a great performance, he is not the tough guy of Bogart or Cagney ,but he exudes a marvellous nervous energy and he seemingly seems to be sweating profusely as the plot thickens. Of course Lana Turner does not really have to do an awful lot to make most men droll down there chin, and Im sure plenty would kill for her and more. But that’s not to take anything away from Turner’s performance, she pretty much goes through all the emotional roller coaster ride of a woman trapped and looking to her escape her life. Written by James M.Cain there are several similarities between this and his other film Double Indemnity, but with Indemnity you know the man is being lead astray where as with Cora and Frank you realise that both parties are doomed due to there love for each other. A great story with a terrific ending,remade in the 1980’s but with abit more explicit sex,yes I know here we go again,it’s a classic noir.Hopefully will watch the remake and see how it compares.