The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) – one way or another …

The Postman Always Rings Twice

Hard times reveal people’s true natures.

Often the worst side.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), was directed by Bob Rafelson, and released in the United States on March 20, 1981.

His previous notable directorial credits include: Five Easy Pieces (1970), and The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), also starring Jack Nicholson.

The screenplay, by David Mamet, was based on the 1934 hardboiled novel of the same title, by James M. Cain.

David Mamet’s writing and directing credits include: House of Games (1987), Homicide (1991), Hoffa (1992), and Heist (2001).

Set during the depression era, Frank Chambers (Jack Nicholson) is a drifter with a criminal record, an opportunistic petty crook and conman, thumbing rides on his way to wherever he can make a fast buck.

He pulls a fast one at a roadside gas station and diner: conning the owner, Nick (John Colicos) into giving him a free meal.

Nick also sees an opportunity and hires Frank as cheap labor.

Nick’s beautiful wife, Cora (Jessica Lange), immediately catches Frank’s attention.

With no better prospects, Frank takes the job.

Frank and Cora are bad people.

Selfish to the point where it can be said they ultimately deserve each other.

Frank is the kind of man who will smile to your face and then knock you down for the cash in your pocket.

Cora makes up the trio of opportunists.

She married Nick not for love, but as a way out of hardship; only succeeding in marrying out of one hash house into another.

Cora is a scheming femme-fatale: a vamp, fully aware of her seductive power.

She is bored, dissatisfied, and unhappy in her marriage to Nick, an older and oafish drunk.

He’s no better; coarse and insensitive, selfish in his own way, taking Cora for granted.

Cora feels neglected, used, and trapped.

Nick tells Cora he has a surprise for her, but it turns out to be a silk robe he bought for himself.

When Frank and Cora first make love on the kitchen table, the coupling is as violent and desperate as it is passionate.

Frank is ready to leave, suggesting to Cora that they both just take off together and leave Nick.

Cora is worried that Nick would come after them and sooner or later he’d catch up and she’d face his retribution.

Frank and Cora see in each other a way out, a way to a better future, a life together, with Nick’s business as their own.

The dynamic of the situation can only go one way.

It was never going to end well.

Nick is in the way.

Nick may not deserve the brutal end Frank and Cora inflict on him, but it’s still difficult for us to feel any sympathy for him.

After a failed attempt to kill Nick, the balance of power shifts between Frank and Cora and, fearing she will lose Frank, seduces him into murder:

CORA:

I gotta have you, Frank. If it was just us. If it was just you and me.

FRANK:

What are you talking about?

CORA:

I’m tired of what’s right and wrong.

FRANK:

They hang people for that, Cora.

Beneath the passion, there is a coldness to this movie, as cold as Frank and Cora are to Nick and, at times, each other.

It’s this cold, cruel, selfishness that prevents us from sympathizing for how they end up.

The novel has been filmed several times, with plays adapted for radio and stage, including an opera.

The 1981 movie version is superior in its gritty realism.

The script and actors were not constrained by the censorship of previous times; they could tell it like it played out in the author’s imagination.

Although harshly criticized on its release, the movie has endured and stands as a high-point in the careers of all involved.

The supporting cast includes: Michael Lerner, John P. Ryan, William Traylor, Ron Flagge, William Newman, Albert Henderson, Christopher Lloyd, Jon Van Ness, and Brion James.

The color tones in the movie are subdued, mostly varying shades of brown, reflecting the drabness of the times.

The music, by Michael Small, evokes an atmosphere of the time, in a neo-noir setting of drama, seduction, infidelity, deception, and murder.

Frank and Cora’s doomed relationship swings from love to hate.

How can a relationship, borne out of infidelity and murder, marred by suspicion, hope to survive?

Frank has a lazy streak, and a weakness for gambling.

When Cora goes out of town to visit her ailing mother, Frank shirks responsibility when left alone.

He closes the diner, takes off, encounters a traveling circus, and cheats on Cora with a wild cat tamer, played by Anjelica Huston.

Cora discovers Frank’s betrayal and takes it badly.

It further confirms Frank’s true nature, adding fuel to the fire of their already unstable relationship: cheaters cheat.

If they cheat with you, chances are they'll cheat on you.

It also confirms a double-standard in Cora: it was one thing Cora cheating on Nick with Frank, but another thing entirely when Frank cheated on her with another woman.

What goes around comes around.

If events had panned out different for Frank and Cora, they might have become victims to their own nature.

Stuck in another rut.

Frank may have found himself meeting a similar end to Nick.

It’s an old story.

A cautionary morality tale of stupid, selfish people making stupid, selfish choices.

Highlighting a recurring bad choice many people make, generation after generation: the mirage of the grass seeming greener on the other side of the fence.

It isn’t.

They fool themselves into thinking the new lover will be the perfect partner, able to provide them with the perfect life.

They quickly learn the new partner comes with faults and problems of their own.

The trip to the other side of that proverbial fence is often one-way.

The wrong choice is made, the bridge is then burned and, like Frank and Cora, they find themselves in a worse situation.

They may cheat the hangman, but life, fate, justice, karma – whatever you choose to call it – has a way of ringing twice.

On this day in movie history - The Super Cops (1974):

The Super Cops

directed by Bob Rafelson,

written by Lorenzo Semple Jr.,

based on the book by L. H. Whittemore,

was released in the United States on March 20, 1974.
Music by Jerry Fielding.

Cast:

Ron Leibman, David Greenberg, David Selby, Robert Hantz, Sheila Frazier, Pat Hingle, Dan Frazer, Joseph Sirola, Arny Freeman, Bernard Kates, Alex Colon, Charles Turner, Ralph Wilcox, Al Fann, Albert Henderson.

On this day in movie history - Blast of Silence (1961):

Blast of Silence

directed and written by Allen Baron,

was released in the United States on March 20, 1961.
Narrated by Lionel Stander.
Music by Meyer Kupferman.

Cast:

Allen Baron, Molly McCarthy, Larry Tucker, Peter Clune, Danny Meehan, Howard Mann, Charles Creasap, Bill DePrato, Milda Memenas, Joe Bubbico, Ruth Kaner, Gil Rogers, Jerry Douglas, Don Saroyan, Dean Sheldon, Bill Chadney, Ernest Jackson, Erich Kollmar, Betty Kovac, Mel Sponder, Lionel Stander, Bob Taylor.

On this day in television history - M Squad (1959):

M Squad

Season 2. Episode 25.
Episode entitled: The Harpies.
Released March 20, 1959.
Directed by Fletcher Markle.
Written by Robert C. Dennis.
Music by John Williams.

Cast:

Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan, Beatrice Kay, Gail Kobe, Luana Anders, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Elmore Vincent, Judd Holdren.

Born on this day – William Hurt:

William Hurt

Actor

March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022

Credits:

50th Annie Awards (2023); A Couch in New York (1996); A Gala for the President at Ford's Theatre (1993); A History of Violence (2005); A Midsummer Night's Dream (1982); A Time of Destiny (1988); A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001); Acts of Violence (2006); Albert Brooks: Defending My Life (2023); Alice (1990); All the Way Home (1981); Altered States (1980); American Masters (1991 / 2019); Avengers: Endgame (2019); Avengers: Infinity War (2018); Beautiful Ohio (2006); Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands (2016); Black Widow (2021); Body Heat (1981); Body Heat: Interviews with Kathleen Turner and William Hurt (1981); Body Heat: The Plan (2006); Body Heat: The Post-Production (2006); Body Heat: The Production (2006); Bonnie & Clyde (2013); Broadcast News (1987); Cámara negra. Teatro Victoria Eugenia (2007); Captain America: Civil War (2016); Changing Lanes (2002); Children of a Lesser God (1986); Close Up (2012); Comme au cinéma (2005); Condor (2018–2020); Contaminated Man (2000); Corazón de... (2005 / 2006); Damages (2009); Dark City (1998); Days and Nights (2014); De Niro: A Self Portrait (2007); De película (1982–1986); De película (1987); Deconstructing 'the Village' (2005); Días de cine (2007–2012); Disclosure (2020); Do Not Disturb (1999); Dune - The Filmmakers' Vision (2014); Dune - The Production Story (2014); Dune (2000); Elie Wiesel Goes Home (1996); Endgame (2009); Entertainment Tonight (2006–2008); Especial Oscars 86 (1987); Eyewitness (1981); Fire in the Blood (2013); Frank Herbert's Dune: The Lure of Spice (2002); Frankenstein (2004); Giving Voice (2020); Goliath (2016–2021); Good Morning America (2022); Gorky Park (1983); Great Performances (1978); HBO First Look (2005–2008); Hellgate (2011); Hollywood Insider (2021); Humans (2015); Hunt for Justice (2005); I Love You to Death (1990); Inside 'The Village': A Movie Special (2004); Into the Wild (2007); Into the Wild: The Story, the Characters (2008); Ispoved neznakomtsu (1995); It's Like Life (2004); Jane Eyre (1996); Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985); Kojak (1977); Late Bloomers (2011); Lee Marvin: A Personal Portrait by John Boorman (1998); Lost in Space (1998); Lost in Space Forever (1998); Lost in Space: Deleted Scenes (1998); Loved (1997); Maddened by His Absence (2012); Making of... (1998); Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (1990); Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant (2011); Marvel Studios: Assembled (2021); Marvel Studios: Legends (2021); Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story (2002); Michael (1996); Moby Dick (2011); Movie Magic (1995); Mr. Brooks (2007); Mr. Wonderful (1993); Mythic Quest (2021); Nearest to Heaven (2002); Neverwas (2005); Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006); Noise (2007); One True Thing (1998); Oscar, que empiece el espectáculo (2008); Oscar's Greatest Moments (1992); Pantheon (2022–2023); Premio Donostia a Ian McKellen (2009); Premio Donostia a Willem Dafoe (2005); Race (2016); Rare Birds (2001); Rivière-des-Jérémie (2001); Robin Hood (2010); Robin Hood: Rise and Rise Again, Making Ridley Scott's Robin Hood (2010); São Paulo - Cinemacidade (1994); Saturday Night Live (1989); Second Best (1994); Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003); Smoke (1995); Spotlight on Location: One True Thing (1998); Success in the System (2014); Sunshine (1999); Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024); Supermensch (2013); Syriana (2005); Tangled Web: Making Kiss of the Spider Woman (2008); Tavis Smiley (2010–2015); TCM Remembers 2022 (2022); The 1986 Annual D.W. Griffith Awards (1986); The 21st BAFTA Awards (1990); The 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2023); The 39th Annual Tony Awards (1985); The 40th Annual Tony Awards (1986); The 41st Annual Tony Awards (1987); The 43rd Annual Golden Globe Awards 1986 (1986); The 4th Floor (1999); The 53rd Annual Tony Awards (1999); The 54th Annual Academy Awards (1982); The 57th Annual Academy Awards (1985); The 58th Annual Academy Awards (1986); The 59th Annual Academy Awards (1987); The 60th Annual Academy Awards (1988); The 61st Annual Academy Awards (1989); The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards (2011); The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2010); The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2012); The 78th Annual Academy Awards (2006); The Accidental Tourist (1988); The Beast Within: The Making of the Incredible Hulk - The Video Game (2008); The Best of Families (1977); The Big Brass Ring (1999); The Big Chill (1983); The Big Chill: A Reunion (1999); The Blue Butterfly (2004); The Challenger Disaster (2013); The Clock (2010); The Countess (2009); The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him (2013); The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (2014); The Doctor (1991); The Flamingo Rising (2001); The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films (2014); The Good Shepherd (2006); The Host (2013); The Incredible Hulk (2008); The King (2005); The King of Queens (2002); The King's Daughter (2022); The Last Full Measure (2019); The Legend of Sasquatch (2006); The Making of 'Gorky Park' (1983); The Making of 'the Incredible Hulk' (2008); The Miracle Maker (1999); The Miracle Season (2018); The Movies (2019); The New Bike (2009); The Odyssey of John Dos Passos (1994); The Oscars (2022); The Plague (1992); The Proposition (1998); The Real Robin Hood (2010); The River Why (2010); The Rosie O'Donnell Show (1996); The Secrets of Dick Smith (1991); The Simian Line (2000); The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1996–1998); The Unspeakable (2021); The View (2015); The Village (2004); The Year: 2022 (2022); The Yellow Handkerchief (2008); Today (1981–2022); Too Big to Fail (2011); Too Commercial for Cannes (2006); Trial by Jury (1994); Trial of Midnight Rider: Railroaded in the Deep South (2018); Tuck Everlasting (2002); Twentieth Century Fox: The Blockbuster Years (2000); United We Stand, Divided We Fall: The Making of 'Captain America: Civil War' (2016); Until the End of the World (1991); Vantage Point (2008); Vantage Point: An Inside Perspective (2008); Varian's War: The Forgotten Hero (2001); Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC - The Color Wheel (2002); Welcome to the Basement (2014–2016); Winter's Tale (2014); ... y otras mujeres de armas tomar (1998).

Born on this day – Frank Zuniga:

Frank Zuniga

Director

Producer

March 20, 1936 – February 20, 2023

Credits:

Fist Fighter (1988); Krag, the Kootney Ram (1983); The Golden Seal (1983); Heartbreaker (1983); The Further Adventures of the Wilderness Family (1978); Strange Companions (1983); The Magical World of Disney (1968–1977); The Track of the African Bongo (1977); Barry of the Great St. Bernard (1977); The Flight of the Grey Wolf (1976); Mustang (1973); Spider Baby or, the Maddest Story Ever Told (1967).