The Postman Always Rings Twice

A film set in California in the 1930s. Frank is out of work and on the road. He stops at a filling station and diner run by Nick and gets a job. Nick has a young wife: Cora. Something starts between them at once. Cora wants out of this life, but the diner is his; if she divorces she will have nothing. They make a plan. The first attempt fails. The second works and looks like an accident. Then the insurance company, the prosecutor and the lawyers come into it. In that section the two are used against each other; the statements are taken so as to accuse. They are acquitted. The real matter begins after that: two people know what each did to the other and go on living in the same house. The source is James M. Cain's novel. It had been filmed several times before; this version was the first American adaptation able to show the sexuality of the book openly. David Mamet wrote the screenplay. Jack Nicholson plays Frank, Jessica Lange plays Cora and John Colicos plays Nick. Anjelica Huston is in the cast. Bob Rafelson directed. Sven Nykvist photographed it. A solid production for anyone who likes adaptations of noir and American cinema after the 1970s. For a viewer who knows the classic version, this one is heavier and barer.