I'm sorry, but I must be some kind of ijit.
Don't get me wrong, I loved this film. Lana is so beautiful!
But what is the deal with the Postman? Even though Garfield babbled on about the Postman about the end, I still have no clue what he was talking about.
Is the postman:
a) Death
b) Love/Lust
c) Redemption
d) Or something I completely missed.
Enlighten me!
The "postman" is death/karma. Death came looking for each of them twice in the movie. It came the first time for Lana when she was put on trial. The second time was when she finally died in the car accident. It came looking for John the first time when the car went over the cliff. It came the second time when he was sentenced to execution. They missed their chance to die the first time, but didn't miss it the second time.
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i'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a metaphorical symbol of fate/god
but yea, i was a little lost there for a while as well
-empty
"The Postman Always Rings Twice" = "Death Always Rings Twice." I've got only one problem with that assessment: Death doesn't always ring twice. Sometimes it only rings once. As a horrific example, and not to be flippant, what about stillbirths or babies that die shortly after delivery? Surely, James M. Cain was savvy enough to know that Death doesn't, in fact, ALWAYS ring twice.
Death certainly rang twice for Frank and Cora, but then Cain didn't title it "The Postman RANG Twice." If Cain said in some interview/letter/essay that The Postman was Death, and hence Death Has Never Rung--and Will Never Ring--Only Once, then I think he was sloppy in titling his novel.
In the absence of an explanation from Cain himself, I would suggest the Postman is Fate or maybe Justice or even Opportunity.
Macreeedy! Oy Vey!
The movie isn't commenting on death in all forms. It slowly develops a scenario in which punishment comes back, as a force in the universe. From the moment the crime goes down (even before it does) they are both stuck by a variety of things. The universe conspires to hold them in place until punishment can catch up with them. Any viewer can guess half an hour into this that they are not going to get away with it.
Death Schmeath - we don't even see Garfield's death in the movie.
Stillborn babies have ZERO to do with the theme of this movie. Please color inside the lines.
Unrelated but interesting: the mail used to get delivered twice a day up till the 30s.
Hey onepotato2, or rather, Mr. Black Pot: Let me introduce you to Mr. Kettle. This thread is about the identity of "The Postman" in the title. Why did you change the subject? Somebody posited that "The Postman" was Death, and I disagreed. Logically, "The Postman" couldn't be Death, and I used examples from real life to make my point. Don't interrupt again unless you've got something constructive to say.
shareResponding to a 6.5 year old post...Macreedy, i think it's assumed that if you answer the door at the first ring, the postman is not going to ring a second time. The point is that he will certainly ring again if you don't answer.
shareThe phrase 'The Postman always rings twice', was a common one used by detectives in the 1940's. It meant poetic justice, if a criminal got off with a crime that a detective knew he had committed, the detective would then go all out to get that criminal on another charge, even if the criminal was innocent of the second charge. If you are a criminal and commit a crime, even if you get away with it, I'll get a second chance to get you, hence the postman ringing twice.
shareExcellent explanation, Altho73!
I also enjoyed reading the other posters' interpretation. Thank you for your insight!
The phrase was quite commonly used in the 40's and 50's. If you watch 'The Detective' 1951, Kirk Douglas plays a brutal cop who regards catching criminals as a personal crusade and he uses the term 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' when talking to a criminal who has evaded justice and he partly explains the meaning of the term in that film.
shareGarfield and Turner bungle a first attempt to bump off the husband, pull it off later, betray each other and STILL squeeze out of the whole predicament unscathed- the title is just an indication that fate is sure to "ring" again so I guess that's what the "postman" is: fate.
shareThe defense attorney came right out and made the point to both Cora and Frank and as well in the final scene with the DA. The defense attorney warned them the 2 of them that "if they so much as ..(forgot) ...parked on the side walk" (??) or something close, the DA would be watching and would come down on them like a ton 'o bricks. Then the DA told Frank in the final scene that even if he 'didn't do it' (intentionally kill Clara) he would still drag him back to court and have him fry. The point is a twist on the old postal delivery schedule - even if you missed him at the first delivery, not to worry, he's gonna return. The husband even had two whacks at death - the bath tub and then finally, the car/cliff. Lots of 'twice' in this flic.
shareGood point. No one knows better than OJ Simpson that the Postman rings twice. He walked when he was guilty, then paid dearly for a botched hotel-room robbery.
If Frank never mentioned the Postman near the end, I understood it as when something is meant for you and deserves to come to you, then expect it to persevere and not give up so easily. The Postman knows he's right and you need this so he's gonna make a fuss that you get it.
Frank was like a Postman for Cora too. He left and came back. He rang twice for the girl he loved. That's what I was thinking in the middle of the movie.
It is an allusion to fate. He says something to the effect that sometimes when you are expecting a package you worry you will not hear the postman when he rings the bell, but you needn't worry because he will ring twice in case you don't hear him the the first time. I.e., if something is going to happen, it will happen no matter what you do or don't do.
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Not to mention the title were the words (analogy) of a man about to be put to death. The analogy never worked for me as generally one would only worry if he missed the postman if he was waiting for some positive news.I'd venture to say that most of us aren't waiting in anticipation for the grim reaper. 'What Goes Around Comes Around' would have been a more apt title. But if I was just given word that my final appeal was turned down and now about to face the gas chamber, I would hope I might be forgiven for making a screwed analogy.At least this is how I deal with ending ...
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John Garfield's character Frank got away with murder the first time with Nick's death. However, he received the death penalty for Cora's death when he wasn't at fault at all and in love/married to his accomplice in Nick's death. His words, "The Postman Always Rings Twice", to me, meant that the "postman" always comes back to deliver what is waiting in life. The postman came back for both Cora and Frank. This is just a guess on my part.
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Funny, i'd always taken it to mean that a cheating woman would know the "special" guy in her life was at the door cuz he used a pre-arranged signal when he came to call. Perhaps that would be more valid if the adage was "The Milkman Always Rings Twice."