Differences And Similarities Depicted In The Postman Always Rings Twice (Essay Sample)

The postman always rings twice compare and contrasted
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Institution
The postman always rings twice compare and contrasted
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a drama-film noir that was released in 1946 as an adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel. The 1934 novel explores on the themes of murder and adultery. Despite the scandalous nature, the book has proved to be a durable and popular template for several movies. The book has a potent mix of carnal violence and class anxiety and this has allowed it to be adapted several times in array of social contexts. However, all these adaptations have expressed varying degree of infidelity. The best known adaptation of the book is the 1946 movie, where John Garfield and Lana Turner starred. Despite being set under different timelines, the director of the film, Tay Garnett, retained key aspects such as relevance to the American society of the 1930s and 40s and this this posits the connection between the two pieces of art. Some of the similarities are a storyline and themes highlighted. Nevertheless, the movie adapts several changes, an aspect that contrasts the two works. Some of the aspects present in the Cain’s novel such as high degree of eroticism and racial aspects reduced in the film. This paper will explore of the stated differences and similarities.
One of the most evident similarities between the book and the film is the plot convolutions. The two pieces of art are exploring the relationship between Frank Chambers and Cora (John Garfield and Turner in the movie). Frank Chambers is a hitchhiker who stops at a restaurant off the road to Los Angeles. He is offered a job by the owner of the Joint, Nick smith (Cecil Kellerman in the movie) which he accepts. However, Frank’s acceptance of the job is influenced by his desire to talk to Nick's young and beautiful wife, Cora, who remains cool to him from the first aloof. A passionate romance develops and they soon run away. However, they realize they do not have enough money and return before Nick sees the farewell note. Cora remains determined to elope from her husband’s hand and suggest they should kill him to get his insurance money. The first attempt to kill him in the bathtub fails which leads to the second plan where Nick’s death is designed to look like an auto accident rather than a cold blood murder. Additionally, the book and the film have a tragic end for its protagonists who fall victims to paranoia and their own guilt(Feaster, 2015).
Another interesting aspect of the book and the film is their relevance to the societies and time they are set. The themes being addressed in the book and the film are influenced by the society. For instance, the book focused on stripping down argot of the Depression. The 1946 movie avoids the visual strategies that are associated with film noir, an aspect that characterized the 1940s movies. The film focuses on sanitizing the book’s dark atmosphere by employing tight claustrophobic compositions, inky black half-lighting, titled off-balance framing, and long sharp shadows. However, the two works are linked by noir fatalism. Fatalism is a literacy device employed in films where the characters are painted as powerless and their life is guided by fate. This state can be paralleled with the helplessness state that was affecting Americans when Cain wrote the book due to the effects of the Depression and the determination of veterans who were returning from the Second World War when the film was released (WestCombe, 2015). In both pieces, the two lovebirds are unable to overcome their guilt after killing the owner of the restaurant. This state of helplessness captures the relevance of the film and the book to prevailing events when they were set. Another incidence of fatalism is the determination of the two protagonists at the beginning. Frank and Cora are determined to improve their economic status and quality of life. When Frank is offered a job by the owner of the restaurant, he takes it with his aim being the upward mobility. Cora has the same dream and this makes him woe Frank. He is willing to lure Frank with sexual sizzle into a trap of love. However, she is using him to help her in achieving her dream. Her determination to achieve upward mobility even makes her propose they should kill her husband to get the insurance money. This incidence highlights Cora as a pragmatic woman of numerous female fatales. However, they cannot change their destiny. They are punished for overstepping the limits of their economic class. This theme is of fate and destiny is also evident in the film where the characters playing the starring role experience the same consequences.
Another similarity is the use of first-person narration in the book and the film (Filmsite.org, 2015). In this point of view, Nick’s wife is introduced through Frank eyes as he goes through from the scans of a memorable pair of gams wrapped in a pair of a revealing white short. This first glimpse of Cora, a married lady convinces Frank to stay and work as a handy man in Twin Oaks restaurant. Both the author and the producer uses this part to expose the problems in Nick and Cora’s union, an aspect that Frank the drifter uses to start an elicit relationship with Cora.
Despite capturing the ...