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The Postman Always Rings Twice | 
 enlarge | Directors: Tay Garnett, David Heeley
Actors: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Leon Ames
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $9.29
You Save: $10.69 (54%)
New (48) Used (16) from $9.25
Rating:  40 reviews
Sales Rank: 10877
Format: Black & White, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 113 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.6
MPN: 012569585829
ISBN: 0790785889
UPC: 012569585829
EAN: 9780790785899
ASIN: B0000EYUCU
Theatrical Release Date: May 2, 1946
Release Date: January 6, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: ******BRAND NEW****** ** Over 1.5 million orders shipped worldwide and more than 500 000 items in stock, BUY FROM A TRUSTED SOURCE, ESTABLISHED SINCE 1998 - INETVIDEO ~~~
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Product Description
A hitchiker falls in love with a cafe waitress. Together they murder her husband and then their troubles begin.
Genre: Suspense
Rating: NR
Release Date: 6-JAN-2004
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com essential video
Even under the heavy censorship of 1946 Hollywood, Lana Turner and John Garfield's libidinous desires burn up the screen in Tay Garnett's adaptation of James M. Cain's torrid crime melodrama. Platinum blond Turner is Cora, a restless sexpot stuck in a roadside diner married to mundane middle-aged fry cook Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway) when handsome drifter Frank (Garfield) blows her way. It's lust at first sight, a rapacious desire that neither can break off, and before long they're plotting his demise--but in the wicked world of Cain nothing is that easy. Garnett's visual approach is subdued compared to the more expressionistic film noir of the period, but he's at no loss when he films the luminous Turner in her milky-white wardrobe. She radiates repressed sexuality and uncontrollable passion while Garfield's smart-talking loner Frank mixes street-smart swagger and scrappy toughness with vulnerability and sincere intensity. Costar Hume Cronyn cuts a cold, calculating figure as their conniving lawyer, a chilly character that only increases our feelings for the murderous couple, victims of an all consuming amour fou that drives their passions to extremes. --Sean Axmaker
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| Customer Reviews: Read 35 more reviews...
 Mom and Dad really loved it January 7, 2009
Christine Moll
"The Postman Always Rings Twice" was a lot of fun for my parents to watch again now that their in their 80's!
 Yawn... January 6, 2009
nodice (Manchester, Ga United States)
Sure Lana Turner looks great in this film but truly that's about all it has going for it. The plot was so thin and predictable I started fidgeting in my chair 10 minutes into it. First of all Mr. Smith all but allowed this affair to happen and in some scenes seems to encourage them. Then the constant attempts at murder bordered on comedy. I have a feeling that the book is better than this production but then if viewers from the 40's just wanted to drool after Ms. Turner then I can see why this was such a big hit.
Fatal Attraction December 27, 2008
Acute Observer (Jersey Shore)
"The Postman Always Rings Twice" 1946 film
Frank is hitchhiking from San Francisco; he doesn't worry about his future. He knows how to fix cars. The restaurant owner hires him, and Frank sees Cora in her sun bathing outfit. Cora wants to make something of the restaurant. Frank admires her. The hot Santa Anna wind is blowing in from the desert [this affects people's emotions]. Frank and Cora dance to the music in the jukebox. [What was Nick thinking?] Frank and Cora go swimming in the ocean, they become friendlier. Nick is worried about being cheated by the laundry service, the butcher, and what else? Frank and Cora try to run away, but Cora has second thoughts. She wants something more.
Nick's driving causes a near accident. [This tells about their traffic laws.] What if something really bad happened? There is a near miss when Nick returns and finds the suitcases. Cora explains how things would be much better for them if Nick wasn't around. Cora gets an idea from a magazine, but fate throws a detour into their plans. [How many others read that same article?] Curiosity kills another cat. Frank leaves for Los Angeles, but later Nick finds him and brings him back, a surprise for Cora. [Note the old two-button light switches.] Nick will sell "Twin Oaks" and retire to his sister's place so Cora can nurse his sister. This is a great shock to Cora, she does not want to retire. So now they will take steps to plan their future. But the best-laid plans of mice and men still go awry. Accidents are always investigated. The police know what to look for, like Cora's handbag.
Frank is surprised to hear about the insurance policy on Nick. District Attorney Sackett tries to turn Frank against Cora. Now the courts will decide. There is a shocking surprise at the arraignment, and again when Cora meets Frank. [This is the high point of the film.] Cora's lawyer, Arthur Keats, shows his skills, and we see how a plea bargain works. Keats explains his strategy; it works. Could a restaurant get a lot of business because of the notoriety of the owner? There is a new twist in this story for Cora and Frank. [But they don't want us to tell the ironic ending.] "What's the use?"
The book is better than the film in explaining the insurance settlement.
Love and lust, love and murder. James M. Cain, John Garfield and Lana Turner make a fine, tawdry story October 1, 2008
C. O. DeRiemer (San Antonio, Texas, USA)
With platinum hair, dark eyelashes and pouty lips, Cora Smith is a slut to dream about. Or maybe she's just an ambitious, dissatisfied wife, married to Nick, the fat older owner of a greasy roadside diner. Or maybe all those banked flames of hers are getting too much fresh oxygen from tough, dumb Frank Chambers, who drifts into her life and watches Cora's lipstick roll across the diner floor to his feet. It doesn't matter. Fate is walking slowly down the highway toward Cora and Frank. Nothing is going to change what passion and murder will bring them, and the twist of ironic justice sets them up for a great ending.
There are so many good things about this movie. The four obvious ones start with the story by James M. Cain. We're talking hot lust, dumb love and the kind of ironic inevitability that always comes in first-class noirs. There's the cynical display of the legal process, not quite corrupt -- what does justice have to do with the law? -- but rewarding to those who can best manipulate it. There's Lana Turner as Cora, no actress, but who makes believable the kind of blood-thumping single-mindedness that can turn a not-so-smart drifter into a willing participant in murder. She can offer sex and she can offer love, and neither we nor Frank is sure which has any truth. Frank will settle for the sex, but then he realizes with Cora he might have both. And there's John Garfield as Frank in a perfect performance as this flawed, gullible sap who thinks he can commit murder and call it love. All he wants is Cora on a hot night. He winds up wanting Cora for eternity, and is comforted that she'll be there for him.
Do many people remember John Garfield now? He made a name on Broadway and an even bigger name in Hollywood. He was a committed liberal who was ruined during the Commie witch-hunts. By the late Forties he couldn't find work in Hollywood. All those studio heads who made money from his films didn't want to touch him. He was no Communist, just too liberal for the frightened suits. Garfield's film career was in tatters. He was a first-class actor but naive when it came to politics. He couldn't understand what was happening to him. He died of heart failure in New York in 1952 while trying to reestablish himself on the stage. He was 39. To see just how good he was, watch his reaction shots in this movie...when he first sees Cora...when he has to get in the car next to Nick right after he's smashed Nick's skull with a bottle...when at the end of the movie he reads Cora's note and listens to the DA. Garfield's last major movie was Force of Evil in 1948. These two films demonstrate just how powerful a screen actor John Garfield was and how much this nation lost through expediency and intimidation.
The DVD transfer is just fine. Among the extras is a fine documentary about Garfield.
dvd case arrives damaged September 24, 2008
s. bz (San Mateo, CA USA)
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
The DVD itself is in good condition, but the dvd case arrived damaged. The center piece was broken and so the dvd slid around the inside. This did not cause damage during shipment (although it easily could have). My concern is that over the course of time this problem could cause damage as the dvd is used. The damaged case was a disappointment.
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