I’ve seen Tay Garnett‘s version of The Postman Always Rings Twice (46) two or three times, and I’ve never believed that Lana Turner‘s Nora would have married a flabby old dog like Cecil Kellaway‘s Nick. She was trash, but a woman with her looks could’ve done better. That was a problem. And I was never all that taken with the Bob Rafelson’s 1981 version. Jack Nicholson was too old and bulky looking, and the sex scenes he performed with Jessica Lange…meh.

“In its surface aspects, The Postman Always Rings Twice appears no more than a melodramatic tale, another involved demonstration (two hours in length) that crime does not pay. But the artistry of writers and actors have made it much more than that; it is, indeed, a sincere comprehension of an American tragedy. For the yearning of weak and clumsy people for something better than the stagnant lives they live is revealed as the core of the dilemma, and sin is shown to be no way to happiness.” — from Bosley Crowther‘s 5.3.46 review in The New York Times.