The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Director:

Tay Garnett

Writers:

Harry Ruskin (screen play) and
Niven Busch (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 May 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Their Love was a Flame that Destroyed!

Plot:

A married woman and a drifter fall in love, then plot to murder her husband... but even once the deed is done, they must live with the consequences of their actions.

Plot Keywords:

Drifter | Murder | Love | District Attorney | Gold Digger

Cast

Lana Turner	...	Cora Smith
John Garfield	...	Frank Chambers
Cecil Kellaway	...	Nick Smith
Hume Cronyn	...	Arthur Keats
Leon Ames	...	Kyle Sackett
Audrey Totter	...	Madge Gorland
Alan Reed	...	Ezra Liam Kennedy
Jeff York	...	Blair
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Philip Ahlm	...	Photographer (uncredited)
John Alban	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Don Anderson	...	Orderly Pushing Wheelchair (uncredited)
Morris Ankrum	...	Judge (uncredited)
King Baggot	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Betty Blythe	...	Customer (uncredited)
Paul Bradley	...	Man (uncredited)
Wally Cassell	...	Ben (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Headwaiter (uncredited)
Dick Crockett	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Oliver Cross	...	Man (uncredited)
James Darrell	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Tom Dillon	...	Father McConnell (uncredited)
Edward Earle	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Jim Farley	...	Warden (uncredited)
Byron Foulger	...	Picnic Manager (uncredited)
Joel Friedkin	...	John X. McHugh (uncredited)
A. Cameron Grant	...	Willie (uncredited)
William Halligan	...	Judge (uncredited)
Bud Harrison	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Paul Kruger	...	Officer (uncredited)
Frank Mayo	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Helen McLeod	...	Customer (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Sandra Morgan	...	Matron (uncredited)
George Noisom	...	Telegraph Messenger (uncredited)
Garry Owen	...	Truck Driver (uncredited)
Dorothy Phillips	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Dan Quigg	...	Man (uncredited)
Virginia L. Randolph	...	Snooty Woman (uncredited)
Paula Ray	...	Woman (uncredited)
Hilda Rhodes	...	Customer (uncredited)
Walter Ridge	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Edgar Sherrod	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Reginald Simpson	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan	...	Officer (uncredited)
John M. Sullivan	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Charles Williams	...	Doctor (uncredited)

Directed by
Tay Garnett

Writing credits
Harry Ruskin		(screen play) and
Niven Busch		(screen play)
James M. Cain		(based on the novel by)

Produced by
Carey Wilson	....	producer

Original Music by
George Bassman		(musical score)

Cinematography by
Sidney Wagner		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
George White		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Randall Duell		(art direction)
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis		(set decorations)

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup creator

Production Management
Harry Poppe	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bill Lewis	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
Charles J. Burbridge	....	unit mixer (uncredited)
James Z. Flaster	....	re-recording and effects mixer (uncredited)
Ralph A. Pender	....	re-recording and effects mixer (uncredited)
Robert Shirley	....	re-recording and effects mixer (uncredited)
Newell Sparks	....	re-recording and effects mixer (uncredited)
William Steinkamp	....	re-recording and effects mixer (uncredited)
Michael Steinore	....	re-recording and effects mixer (uncredited)
Don T. Whitmer	....	re-recording and effects mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Mark Davis	....	matte paintings camera (uncredited)
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	miniatures (uncredited)
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	transparency projection shots (uncredited)
Warren Newcombe	....	matte paintings (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Schmitz	....	second camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Irene	....	costume supervisor
Marion Herwood Keyes	....	associate costume supervisor
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)
Helen Scovil Roup	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Ted Duncan	....	orchestrator
M.J. McLaughlin	....	music mixer (uncredited)
Albert Sendrey	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Herbert Stahlberg	....	music mixer (uncredited)
Eric Zeisl	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Gladys Norvell	....	research assistant (uncredited)
George Richelavie	....	research director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1946) (UK) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (new 35mm print)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (194?) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1947) (France) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (19??) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Rosebud (2005) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Cinema Life (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Emerald (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #11240) | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1996) | Australia:PG | Canada:18A (video rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | West Germany:16 | Netherlands:18 (re-rating) (1956) (original rating: not allowed) (1949)

Filming Locations:

Norwalk Train Station, Norwalk, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

As a contrast to the fact she's playing an inherently evil character, Lana Turner wears white throughout the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: Position of Frank's hand on the armrest when he and Cora talk after leaving the preliminary hearing.

Quotes:

Cora Smith:That note I left Nick, if he gets back before we do and finds it...
Frank Chambers:Where'd you leave it?
Cora Smith:In the cash register!
Frank Chambers:That's terrific, that's the first place he'll look.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sanford and Son: The Engagement Man Always Rings Twice (#5.20)" (1976)

Soundtrack:

She's Funny That Way

Good Atmospheric Film-Noir With A Memorable Role For Lana Turner

The good atmosphere and Lana Turner's memorable role make this a film-noir classic worth seeing. The story starts out to be relatively simple, allowing the cast and the atmosphere to carry it, and then heads through a series of twists and turns, picking up the pace as it goes along.

John Garfield and the supporting cast are solid, but it is Turner who really stands out and grabs the attention anytime she is on-screen. It's nothing against Garfield to say that in comparison he is almost just along for the ride, yet he does a creditable job and makes his character believable. The supporting cast helps out as well, with Cecil Kellaway on-target as Turner's oblivious husband, and Hume Cronyn likewise in good form as a conscience-free lawyer.

The story pulls you in slowly, and then has some good turns as it picks up steam towards the middle. There may be a couple of too-convenient plot developments, but otherwise it is well-written.

This classic version is quite a bit better than the early 1980s remake, which required little imagination to make or to watch. Turner's character and performance, in particular (aided by good camera work), demonstrate that the suggestive can be quite a bit more effective and memorable than the explicit.

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" has just about everything you could ask for in a film-noir. It's probably just a cut below the best of the genre, and still one of the movies that most fans of film-noir would not want to miss.