The Postman Always Rings Twice (The Original)

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Runtime: 113 minutes

Directed by: Tay Garnett

Starring: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Leon Ames

From: MGM

NOTE: The rest of my week is going to be busy and thus I doubt I'll be reviewing any films the next few days. Friday night I am supposed to see The Last Jedi and either on Saturday or Sunday (as I may not have any time to on Saturday) I'll give my take on something I hope is incredible.

Last night Turner Classic Movies showed this famous film noir, and as it was new to me I couldn't turn down that opportunity. It is not my favorite genre effort and yet I can say it is pretty good. It did not need to be 113 minutes long but the story was an entertaining yarn perfect for noir and the cast is talented & did a nice job.

The plot should sound familiar: a boy meets a girl and they conspire to kill her husband, only for it to go awry. To be specific, John Garfield shows up at a gas station/restaurant run by a husband and wife. The wife is Lana Turner and her initial appearance is her wearing a great pair of white shorts and no wonder he becomes smitten with her. Her husband is a few decades older than his wife, and the Garfield/Turner pair wish to kill off the old man so they can continue their torrid fiery passionate love affair, only it goes wrong, and along the way you find out why this story has such a title; it is not a random collection of words put together, as some titles appear to be in modern times.

Like I said it's an entertaining yarn and I dare not spoil any of the twists & turns. I'll just mention that there are supporting roles for Hume Cronyn and Leon Ames as opposing attorneys and they are both a lot of fun as they interact with the other characters. It is shot like how you'd expect it to and if you are a fanboy or fangirl of the genre, you probably should get around to it anyhow. Sometime in the future I'll watch the 1981 Bob Rafelson remake; besides the talent involved-such as Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange-the original novel this was adapted from was way too hot for 1940's movie standards, so that is in fact an acceptable explanation to have a remake.