Dreams and Schemes: How to Live Like a Californian
Stephen King once said, “Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They both are fruit, but taste completely different.” In the case of The Postman Always Rings Twice, King is correct. The Postman Always Rings Twice, written by James M. Cain in 1934, once a racy and scandalous misadventure into a world of crime and deceit in the American West, paved the way for hundreds of other novelists, both international and American, to script their own versions of the ultimate combination of sex, lies, and death.
Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice proves to have its differences in comparison to Tay Garnett’s 1946 silver screen rendition of the novel featuring Lana Turner and John Garfield. While Cain’s novel is brisk, stiff and a bit harsh, Garnett’s Postman is brought to life with Turner and Garfield’s playful and witty banter, which makes the tale seem less gruesome than it actually is. In both art forms, the narrative revolves around Frank Chambers, a middle-aged drifter, who goes to work for a roadside restaurant proprietor, Nick, and his sultry wife, Cora: she will eventually seduce Frank into helping her kill her husband. A first murder attempt fails, but later the lovers drive their unknowing victim down from a cliff. A clever attorney tries hit best to push Frank into betraying Cora, but an even shrewder lawyer is on Frank and Cora's side. Nevertheless, a climate of mistrust surrounds Frank and Cora, and eventually they both pay for the crimes they have committed. Despite the alterations obvious in both works, both Garnett and Cain indubitably display a unique twist on what it means to live the California Dream.
Right away, the biggest alterations observed between the two Postman’s is the embodiments of each character. Nick Papadakis, an enthusiastic middle-aged Greek in the novel, is transformed into the elderly Nick Smith, an Englishman so kindhearted and easygoing that murdering him seems surely out of the question. The age difference between Cora and Frank in the film was quite notable as well. Frank is more mature than he seems to be in the novel, yet Lana Turner’s Cora remains young and vivacious. Through Cain’s lens, the first glimpses of Cora illustrate a more tired version of the heroine, existing as a skeleton and as a plot device for Frank: Garnett showcases Cora immediately as quick, witty, and fearless. Through the film, her transformation is key. She starts off as hopeful and excited for the fact that she has the chance to find happiness after murdering her husband, and that is the sole reason she would ever consider terminating his life. But in the aftermath, her humanity is stripped away as she deals with the emotional turmoil that comes alongside committing murder. With his sunny disposition and gratitude towards the district attorney who drops him off at the Smiths’ roadside establishment, John Garfield plays a Frank that is comically antithetical to Cain’s narrator, who truthfully seems to care about nothing and overall lacks a motivation to live. The film’s interpretation of Frank becomes more comical as the film progresses: Frank muses about the meaning of life and different ideals of happiness. He cries at Nick’s funeral, but not only because he has murdered him: he mourns the loss of an individual who showered him with kindness and respect. He is deeply apologetic when he confronts Cora about cheating on her with the woman from the train station, claiming he did it to “get the blonde out of me”, especially because Cora at this point is completely rejecting any attempts he makes to get close with her after their crime.
Other differences, though few, create a small shift in thematic meaning. Generally, the ideas of sex and sexuality are more implicit than explicit in the movie. Cain portrays Frank’s attraction towards Cora as primal and aggressive while Garnett showcases this in an almost innocent way: Frank is flipping burgers when he catches a glimpse of Cora and when he is stunned by her beauty, burns the patties to a crisp. The single time any true sexuality is present is after a chaotic outburst of violence: Frank beats Kennedy mercilessly, and Cora revels in the newfound empowerment of pointing a loaded gun at someone, and together, in a sadistic tornado of sex and violence, they share a kiss. In terms of location, the film, being a pioneer in the “film noir” genre, is often criticized heavily for doing a poor of job of exemplifying film noir- the setting is bleak, but not bone-chillingly eerie with an atmosphere heavy with rain and clouds and the blackness of night. Cain’s illustration of setting in the novel is surprisingly representative of California: confusing, but with an essence of the timeless beauty of the West Coast.
Regardless of the differences between the film and movie, both versions of The Postman Always Rings Twice contribute an interesting twist to the ideals of the California Dream: those who come here searching for something will stop at nothing to achieve their dreams, just as Frank and Cora’s aspirations turned deadly in their fight to be together. Frank, who embodies a man hardened by the road, eventually searches for something of his own, a building block for his own success when he dreams of opening a hot dog cart on the beach. The novel itself is a quick read and the action is fast, but the intricate weaving of several ideas is notable. Capitalism was under heavy criticism during the time in which the novel was published and themes such as entrepreneurship, ambition, pursuing wealth, and success combined with a deadly array of deceit, murder, and crime pave way for an interesting twist on what and who might really embody the Californian Dream. Cain’s view on the aspirations of many when they want to start their lives over again is nihilistic: with Frank, it seems if happiness is not a constant factor of life, it is unachievable, and he displays general disregard for life. The novel not only disregards the California Dream- it dismisses all kinds of dreams, anywhere. There is no point in aspiring for greater things than what has already been given: dreams and aspirations will eventually drive the dreamer to an animalistic necessity for getting what they want, even if it means crime, murder, and deceit come alongside it. In the aftermath of Cora and Frank’s relationship, when dreams are achieved, guilt and conscience quickly overtake feelings of joy. They stick together because at this point, they have to, when they would much rather be far from where they are. Nick Papadakis is a foreigner living the ultimate life: he is moderately successful with a beautiful watch and a giving heart, yet he is killed just as quickly as he has achieved his life’s goals, painting an ominous message for dream-seekers not native to California.
The film decomposes the hopefulness that accompanies the Californian Dream in similar ways. California stops becoming the ultimate beacon of freedom: it becomes a corrupt and filthy society where people leave just as quickly as they step foot past its borders. Cora, an Iowan high school beauty queen flocks to California with the intentions of becoming a starlet, but she is intelligent enough to know that the line of work she desires is not suitable for her. Though she is strategic and manipulative with the men in her life, she is desperate for escape by the end of the novel.
Though California symbolizes everything that is gold, glory, and happiness, both James M. Cain’s novel and Tay Garett’s silver screen adaptation of The Postman Always Rings Twice strip away the hopefulness and the endless opportunity tied into the image of California. Both Postman’s are enjoyable works of art that shape the have more or less contributed greatly to what society recognizes as the genre of crime and mystery. Despite their obvious differences, both the film and the narrative make one thing very clear: California is not always a place where dreams come true- California is a place where some dreams come to die.
Works Cited
Postman Always Rings Twice, The. Dir. Tay Garnett. Perf. Lana Turner and John Garfield.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1946. DVD.

Cain, James M. “The Postman Always Rings Twice.” The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double
Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and Selected Stories. James M. Cain. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. 1-106. Print.