Tay Garnett The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946

directed by Tay Garnett
USA 1946

In many ways a more striking reading of Cain's novel than the Rafelson remake, even though required to pussyfoot on the sexual side. With the opening shot of a sign announcing 'Man Wanted', and Turner's first appearance heralded by a lipstick teasingly rolling across the floor to Garfield's feet, no bed is needed to show what she is selling. A drifter passing through, paralysed by her black widow sting, Garfield becomes a man without a will, immobilised in the bleak little California backwater and gradually mired in a cesspit of lust, betrayal and murder that turns too late into love. The plot gathers slack latterly; but this is only a minor flaw in a film, more grey than noir, whose strength is that it is cast as a bleak memory in which, from the far side of paradise, a condemned man surveys the age-old trail through sex, love and disillusionment.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

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Theatrical Release: 2 May 1946

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DVD Review: Warner Home Video - Region 1,4 - NTSC

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Warner Home Video Region 1,4 - NTSC
Runtime	1:52:48
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.73 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 1.0), DUB: French (Dolby Digital 1.0)
Subtitles	English, French, Spanish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Introduction by Richard Jewell (5:02) • Documentary: The John Garfield Story (57:36) • Theatrical Trailers for original and remake • Behind-the-scenes Image Gallery DVD Release Date: January 6, 2004 Snapper Chapters 32

Comments

Waiting for my Double Indemnity DVD to arrive, I decided to watch the other adulterous James M. Cain adaptation from 1940's - The Postman Always Rings Twice. It took MGM 12 years to adapt the book for the big screen to satisfy the Production Code and the public. Thanks to 2 successful adaptation of Cain novels (Double Indemnity and Mildred Pierce) and 2 unofficial adaptations in France (Le Dernier tournant) and Italy (Ossessione) the wait was over. And was it worth the wait! Lana Turner and John Garfield embody Cora and Frank... even without intercourse on the kitchen table, the film is full of sexual tension. Overall, the video quality of this DVD from 2004 is very good. There's some damage in the second reel (see capture 3) and a few specs here and there, but overall image has a nice grain structure, not intrusive with viewing the film. There's good a quality original mono track and Warner also provided a French dub, also in mono. While not a full-blown special edition, extras on the disc are very nice including 1-hour John Garfield documentary. There's also a short introduction by Richard Jewell, but it's better to be viewed after the film. The spoiler-ridden trailer is full of some shots not in the picture, including a lovely view of Audrey Totter with different hair and in different setting. There's also a brief gallery of photos and posters as well as a trailer for the remake.

- Gregory Meshman

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