The Postman Always Rings Twice

Lasagna once again. I also had a brownie with coffee.

The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946, directed by Tay Garnett. Harry Ruskin and Niven Busch wrote the screenplay, based on the novel by James Cain. Starring Lana Turner and John Garfield, but Hume Cronyn steals the show with his scenes (opinion).

I hadn't seen this one in a while. An okay entry in the noir genre. It could have been better if ...

We need the two leads to show us there is heat between them, enough steam to drive them to murder. Lana Turner and John Garfield never raise the temperature that high. There's that first shot of Lana's legs, and it's iconic, and you think she's going to set the house on fire just standing there. Then, nothing. Maybe two other stars could have made this happen.

Second thing. MGM, wasn't known for noir. And, true to form, they couldn't resist throwing in some melodrama. Which really breaks the noir spell. Juxtapose that approach with the scene between Bogart and Astor in Maltese Falcon where Astor describes the tragically misguided life that has brought her to this point. Bogart, having none of it, cynically says, "You're good, you're very good." In other words, 'You give me melodrama, I give you icy critique.' This is what we expect from noir.

Cast Postman with two other stars and make it anywhere other than MGM and I think you'd have a top-ten noir.

That's why I gave it an 'okay.'