Analysis of Film: The Postman Always Rings Twice

In “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” Frank, a drifter, meets Cora, a beautiful woman; she is bored, married to a much older man, and wishes to own the diner in which she works. The two start an affair and soon scheme to kill the woman’s husband, which they eventually succeed in doing. A cycle of retribution then begins, culminating in the death of Cora in an auto accident; it is not made clear whether it is, in fact, an accident, but Frank is wrongfully convicted for Cora’s murder and sentenced to death. He comes to accept this as punishment for the murder of Cora’s husband.

“Film noir” often focused on crime dramas, particularly those crimes motivated by characters’ weakness, misplaced sexual desires, or cynical and worldly attitudes. Cora’s motivations are anything but praiseworthy, and her ambitions pathetic. She uses Frank, and Frank uses her. Her illicit sexual allure is emphasized from the moment we first see her (a long pan upwards from her shoes to her bare legs, etc.) to the first sex scene between her and Frank, which emphasizes frenzied desire more than anything resembling lovemaking. The film's image of exterior shots, suggesting an empty and depressing landscape, as well as the low-angled interior shots, bringing a dark, unsettling mood into the household, are analogs for the boredom, depression, and desperation felt by Cora. Interestingly, Frank is portrayed as having far more of a conscience about his deeds than Cora. The suggestion is that Frank is caught, helpless, in Cora’s inescapable sexual web.

The film’s ending is formulaic, as both murderers get their comeuppance. This manner of ending was mandated by prevailing Hollywood censorship codes, which literally stated that a character could not be shown to have gotten away with murder. The way in which the two are punished, though, shows a sense of style: Cora, at the hands of Frank (accidentally or on purpose); Frank, for a crime he probably didn’t actually commit (the “murder” of Cora).

Bibliography

The Postman Always Rings Twice. Directed by Tay Garnett. 1946.