The Postman Always Rings Twice

I used to watch a lot of old movies...but not so much of late. All is well though, I remembered I had The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) gathering dust on my DVD shelf, so I thought I'd give it a go. Better late than never...yes?
A drifter, Frank Chambers (John Garfield) finds a restaurant which needs help with odd-jobs and returns. This seems like a harmless job, but he meets a beautiful woman, Cora (Lana Turner) who is married to a man who is less than great, and also the owner of the restaurant. Frank and Cora fall in love, and plot to murder Cora's husband, but once the deed is done, both must live with the consequences.
This was really Lana Turner's film. She surprised me, as I thought she was just another studio actress with no real talent, just used for her beauty. However, this role proved she was truly a wonderful actress, who unfortunately had little critical recognition. The icyness of her character was evident, and throughout the film I didn't know whether to fear her or kill her.
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a great film-noir, mainly because of it's atmospheric take on the story. It is also one of those movies you thank goodness that it is in black and white, because it makes it seem so much better! A really great example of the power of film-noir in the 1940's. They just can't make them like they used to.
7/10