The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Bob Rafelson

Writers:

James M. Cain (novel)
David Mamet (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 March 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller | Romance

Tagline:

You Will Feel The Heat.

Plot:

The sensuous wife of a lunch wagon proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordidly steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Drifter | Cafe | Lunch Wagon | Remake

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jack Nicholson	...	Frank Chambers
Jessica Lange	...	Cora Papadakis
John Colicos	...	Nick Papadakis
Michael Lerner	...	Mr. Katz
John P. Ryan	...	Kennedy
Anjelica Huston	...	Madge
William Traylor	...	Sackett
Thomas Hill	...	Barlow (as Tom Hill)
Jon Van Ness	...	Motorcycle Cop
Brian Farrell	...	Mortenson
Raleigh Bond	...	Insurance Salesman
William Newman	...	Man from Home Town
Albert Henderson	...	Art Beeman
Ken Magee	...	Scoutmaster
Eugene Peterson	...	Doctor

Also Known As:

Wenn der Postmann zweimal klingelt (West Germany)

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (1988) | Finland:K-18 (1981) | Singapore:PG (cut) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Portugal:M/16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Santa Barbara, California, USA

Company:

CIP Filmproduktion GmbH

Trivia:

In the mid-'70s, studio executives had mooted Raquel Welch as Cora, but backed off.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Cora walks to the door of the café after coming back from her mother's (1:38:25), her zipper and zipper pull show. What we see is an "invisible" zipper which were not invented until the early 1960s.

Quotes:

Cora: All I know is, it went dark... If he'd have turned around, Frank, they'd have hanged us for it... and something... something put that cop there... It's an act of God those lights went out!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Spin City: The Doorman Always Rings Twice (#4.10)" (1999)

She's tired of what's right and what's wrong...

Immensely watchable, this remake of the 1940s classic is sexed up by writer David Mamet and director Bob Rafelson. Jack Nicholson is a drifter who ingratiates himself into the lives of roadside diner/gas station owner John Colicos and his impossibly sexy wife Jessica Lange. Soon Lange and Nicholson are having sex EVERYWHERE...and plotting to bump off Colicos. Aided by great cinematography by Sven Nykvist and very evocative production design by George Jenkins, Rafelson manages to capture James M. Cain's ironic novel and all it's sordidness. Nicholson is terrific but Lange gives a career making performance...this is the movie that put her on the map after the KING KONG debacle. There are times when she acts Nicholson off the screen. Colicos is fine, if a bit old for his role and Michael Lerner is in it too. Anjelica Huston has a really odd cameo as a lion tamer!