The Postman Always Rings Twice

(Tay Garnett, US 1946, 113 min., 35mm)

War, Myth, Desire. After taking a job at a diner, drifter Frank Chambers (John Garfield) finds that his handyman duties are significantly less interesting than the boss’s wife—a lipstick blonde (Lana Turner) whose plans for the adulterous pair lead to murder, betrayal, and death. The second adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel (Visconti’s Ossessione was made three years prior) is classic film noir at its most erotic, thanks in no small part to Turner’s performance as the dangerously alluring femme fatale.