Movie Review: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Interesting story and great acting pull you in
Cons: Some pacing and a couple moments of acting
Bottom Line:
Amazing acting
Pulls you into this noir tale
Until the ending

"You Suggested It Yourself Once."  "I Was Only Joking."

There are certainly classics of the mystery/noir genre any fan at least recognizes by title.  For me, one of those was The Postman Always Rings Twice.  I decided it was time to learn a bit more about the story thanks to the classic black and white 1946 movie, which I enjoyed.

The story follows Frank Chambers (John Garfield), a drifter who happens upon a gas station/restaurant outside a coastal California town.  The owner of the restaurant, Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway), is looking for a hand around the place.  Frank isn’t interested until he meets Cora (Lana Turner).  Suddenly, he’s willing to hire on so he can woo this beautiful woman.  Unfortunately, she happens to be Nick’s much younger wife.

That doesn’t stop Frank, and soon the two are madly in love.  There’s just the problem of Nick.  Soon they have decided to kill Nick so they can live together happily.  But can they get away with it if they even succeed?

I’m going say no more about the plot since there were a couple twists I didn’t know about, and I think I enjoyed it better as a result.  I definitely got pulled into things as I began rooting for Frank and Cora to manage to get a happy ending despite the fact that they are evil people.

I liked the ending.  In some ways, it felt rushed, but really, there would have been nothing served by dragging it out.  The main story was over, and what we got tied up the loose ends well.

The real star of this film is Lana Turner.  She is phenomenal as the femme fatal.  She has the most complex character and she plays Cora brilliantly.  The rest of the characters are less complex, but those actors are great as well. There is a level of acting here you won’t find in many films today.  And the romance between Frank and Cora sizzles with just glances and kisses.

Movies from the 40’s often have an acting style that we’d view as overacting today, and it shows up here.  Yet it’s a minor issue.

I do have a couple of issues with the film.  The pacing could be a bit tighter as a couple of spots seem to drag and a few go by too quickly.  But that could be a different of the era.

My biggest complaint is the title.  Frank has a speech at the end that explains it, but I think the story deserved a better title.  The analogy he uses is a bit tortured, although it does work.  Ironically, it was added to the film to try to explain the title – the book has no explanation at all.  Still, it would have been better worked into the story instead of a lecture at the end.

Minor complaints aside, this is a film noir classic for a reason.  Anyone interested in the genre or classic films will certainly enjoy The Postman Always Rings Twice.