“I always wanted to be a femme fatale,” Diane von Furstenberg once said. Perhaps she was influenced by the film noir directors influenced by James M. Cain’s crime novel “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1934).
Cain’s tale about a woman who conspires with her lover to murder her husband wasn’t just a hit with readers, it inspired cinematic adaptations on both sides of the pond — from France’s Le Dernier Tournant (1939) to Bob Rafelson’s Depression era remake The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) starring Jessica Lange and Jack Nicholson.
Three noteworthy interpretations that came in between can be seen during Music Box Theatre’s NOIR CITY: Chicago 2024 Film Festival (Sep. 6-12).
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Screening: Sep. 6 at 7 p.m.
Directed by Tay Garnett
Runtime: 113 mins; shown in 35MM
In one of her most memorable roles, sex bomb Lana Turner plays Cora Smith. Thanks to her wardrobe by actress Irene Lentz turned-fashion-designer Irene, Turner turned heads in either all white or all black ensembles. Armed with a glamorous look and demure attitude, she seduces John Garfield’s grifter Frank Chambers and has him whack her husband Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway). At the time, the Production Code Administration was none too pleased about the film’s themes of adultery and murder. Perhaps that’s why the story punishes Cora’s character for her sexuality. Nevertheless, the movie was a box office hit and has become a film noir classic.
Ossessione (1943)
Screening: Sep. 6 at 9:45 p.m.
Directed by Luchino Visconti
Runtime: 140 mins; in Italian with English subtitles
This unauthorized and uncredited version is set in Italy, where a tramp named Gino Costa (Massimo Girotti) falls for Giovanna (Clara Calamai) in the messy kitchen of the roadhouse inn she runs with her unappealing husband Giuseppe Bragana (Juan de Landa). After Gino and Giovanna become lovers and kill Giuseppe, emotional complications arise in the forms of guilt and more adultery. Known for its gritty mise en scène, this black-and-white flick helped define Italian neorealism.
Inferno (1953)
Screening: Sep. 10 at 7 p.m.
Technically this Technicolor thriller isn’t a direct adaptation of Cain’s book but its setup is very similar. In this case, Geraldine Carson (Rhonda Fleming) and her lover Joesph Duncan (William Lundigan) abandon her husband, millionaire Donald Carson III (Robert Ryan), in the Mojave Desert after he breaks his leg. On the guise of getting help, Gerry and Joe leave Donald to die. Told from the latter’s point of view, the movie includes campy voice-over. Adding to the fun are 3-D effects.
The festival also includes a new 4K restoration print of Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samourai (1967) starring Alain Delon and François Périer as well as 35MM screenings of Black Tuesday (1954) and This Gun for Hire (1942) starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and Robert Preston.
