The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

Months later, Frank has an affair with Madge Gorland ( Anjelica Huston) while Cora is out of town. With the tactic having failed to generate any new evidence for the prosecution, Cora benefits from a deal in which she pleads guilty to manslaughter and is sentenced to probation. As a tactic intended to get Cora and Frank to turn on one another, he tries only Cora for the crime.Īlthough they turn against each other, a clever ploy from Cora's lawyer, Katz ( Michael Lerner), prevents Cora's full confession from coming into the hands of the prosecutor. The local prosecutor suspects what has actually occurred but does not have enough evidence to prove it. Their first attempt at the murder is a failure, but they succeed with their second attempt. She and Frank scheme to murder Nick to start a new life together without her losing the diner. Cora is tired of her situation, married to an older man she does not love, and working at a diner that she wishes to own and improve. The diner is operated by a young, beautiful woman, Cora Smith ( Jessica Lange), and her much older husband, Nick Papadakis ( John Colicos), a hardworking but unimaginative immigrant from Greece.įrank and Cora start to have an affair soon after they meet. The film was shot in Santa Barbara, California.įrank Chambers ( Jack Nicholson), a drifter, stops at a Depression-era rural California diner in the hills outside Los Angeles for a meal and ends up working there. Starring Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange, it is the fourth adaptation of the 1934 novel by James M. The Postman Always Rings Twice is a 1981 American neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by Bob Rafelson and written by David Mamet (in his screenwriting debut).

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain