Directed by:
Written by: Harry Ruskin and Niven Busch based on the novel by James M. Cain.
Starring: Lana Turner (Cora Smith), John Garfield (Frank Chambers), Cecil Kellaway (Nick Smith), Hume Cronyn (Arthur Keats),
I
often find older movies sexier than newer ones, despite the obvious
disadvantage that in older movies, you really couldn’t show very much. As a
case in point, I show you 1946’s The Postman Always Rings Twice, which is a
movie dripping with lust and sexuality, despite the fact that there is no
nudity in it. Now, I haven’t seen the 1981 remake with Jack Nicholson and
Jessica Lange, which apparently was full of nudity, but I bet you I would agree
with what I have heard about it – that despite the more graphic nature of the
film, it still doesn’t compare with the sexuality on display in the original.
Few movies have.
The
film stars the great John Garfield as Frank Chambers, a drifter who happens
upon a gas station/restaurant and gets offered a job by the older owner, Nick
(Cecil Kellaway). Frank figures this is as good as place as any to stay for a
little while before moving on. Than he sees Nick’s wife - Cora (Lana Turner) –
and his life will never be the same. These two characters are attracted to each
other at their basest levels almost from the moment they first lock eyes, and
as they circle each other and flirt, you can feel that tension between them
that becomes almost as unbearable for the audience as it does for the
characters. When the husband is for a while, they give into their desires.
Frank wants Cora to run away with him. But she wants security and money – she
has put too much time into Nick to walk away with nothing. But if something
were to happen to Nick, she could have everything she wants – money and Frank. But
things that seem so easy when you’re planning them, have a way of going wrong
when it comes time to actually do the deed – as Cora and Frank find out.
The
Postman Always Rings Twice is a classic film noir that has all the necessary
agreements. John Garfield is excellent as Frank, who may be a drifter, and a
little bit of a lowlife, but who would never become a murderer if he had not
met Cora. Turner makes an excellent femme fatale, drawing her everyman co-star
down into the depths of depravity with her. Poor Cecil Kellaway is in fine form
as the naïve, drunken husband who cannot see what is right in front of his
face. And the great Hume Cronyn, who shows up late as a lawyer, has never been
sleazier.
And
yet, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a little bit different than many film
noirs. I felt for the characters a little bit more this time around. Cora is a
femme fatale for sure, and yet she is a human one. She is a woman who has been
looked at as a sex object by every man she has met since she was 15. She
latched onto a seemingly nice, stable guy and has discovered that even that
won’t bring her peace. With Frank, for the first time, she feels love. And yet,
she cannot go back to being poor. And Garfield, as the dupe, makes his
character more love struck than most noir leading men. Even as the plot
disintegrates around them, and they are brought into court and the lovers turn
on each other, he cannot help but love Cora.
The film was directed with style by Tay Garnett, and based on the great James M. Cain’s novel. Cuts were made because the movie was considered too sexual for 1946, and yet the final cut is still dripping with lust. You feel that tension, that connection right until the final frames of the movie. The Postman Always Rings Twice is great noir.
No comments:
Post a Comment