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The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

tomatometer

95

Average Rating: 8/10
Reviews Counted: 19
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 1

No consensus yet.

No Reviews Yet...

Release Date: May 2, 1946 Limited

audience

78

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 6,962

My Rating

Movie Info

James M. Cain's novel received its first authorized screen treatment in this MGM production. Drifter Frank Chambers (John Garfield) takes a job at a roadhouse run by slovenly but likeable Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway). Nick's sexy young wife Cora (Lana Turner) takes an immediate liking to Frank, but he senses that she's trouble and he keeps his distance--for a while, anyway. Inevitably succumbing to Cora's tawdry charms, Frank enters into her scheme to murder Nick and claim the old boy's insurance

Jan 6, 2004

MGM

Cast

All Critics (23) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (1) | DVD (11)

The movie is not a wild river but a humid delta of stagnant frustration and stymied movement, so it's all the more impressive that it's such a gripping spectatorial experience.

February 8, 2012 Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | Comment
Nick's Flick Picks

Quintessential film noir. (TCM Greatest Classic Films: Murder Mysteries)

September 10, 2009 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

...has little of the insinuating nature of the best film noir.

August 4, 2008 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | Comment
LarsenOnFilm

Whilst the Jack/Jessica version was entertaining it was seemingly only interested in 'pushing the envelope', this film doesn't need to do any of that - and doesn't - it just plays out the story, and that's gripping enough.

May 6, 2005 Comment
Moviehole

The chemistry between Nick (Garfield) and Cora (Turner) absolutely leaps off the screen.

November 5, 2004 Comment
Reel.com

Part sultry romance, part mystery thriller, the movie continues to keep audiences intrigued with its edgy character relationships and unforeseen tensions.

January 10, 2004 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Postman Always Rings Twice

I wasn't expecting a classic film noir along the lines of "Double Indemnity" or "Out of the Past" when I finally got around to watching The Postman Always Rings Twice, and for awhile, I thought I might have been wrong. Compared to the benchmarks of the genre, I didn't have extra high hopes for this movie. Then my mood

September 6, 2011
JonathanHutchings
Jonathan Hutchings

Super Reviewer

"Darling, can't you see how happy you and I would be together here...without him?"In this steamy collaboration between John Garfield and Lana Turner, Garfield plays a young, aimless vagabond who arrives at a small diner near Los Angeles in his travels, and enters the life of the gorgeous young woman (Turner) and her

August 31, 2010
lewiskendell

Super Reviewer

    1. Madge Gorland: It's a hot day. And that's a leather seat, and I got a thin skirt.
    2. Frank Chambers: I'll cool it off for you!
    – Submitted by Walter M (20 days ago)
    1. Frank Chambers: With my brains and your looks, we could go places.
    – Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) (DE)
  • The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) (UK)
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