Directed by Lucino Visconti
1943/Italy
Industrie Cinematografiche Italiane (ICI)
Repeat viewing
#165 of 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die
“Love, when you get fear in it, it’s not love any more. It’s hate.” ― James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice
This neo-realist work was Lucino Visconti’s first feature film and the second screen adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, made after Le Dernier Tournant (1939) and before the 1946 Hollywood version. It stays fairly close to the story but with a flavor more of tragedy than of noir.
Handsome drifter Gino Costa (Massimo Girotti) lands at a sort of Italian truck stop/store on the back of a pickup and stays for lunch after he spots Giovanna (Clara Calmai), the young wife of the portly middle-aged owner Giuseppe Bragana. A passionate love affair ensues and, as Giovanna cannot bear to leave the security of the store and Gino tries but fails to live without her, they resort to murdering the husband. Gino’s guilt and fear, and Giovanna’s continued refusal to leave the store, threaten to destroy their relationship.
I find this to be grittier, and thus more faithful to the novel, than the Hollywood version. At the same time, there is a very Catholic sense of guilt and sin permeating the film – none of that hard-bitten wisecracking type dialogue here. The ending seems more operatic than ironic. I actually far prefer this version to the Hollywood version. The acting is better and I like all the details of everyday life and the emotional subtleties of the story. The only thing I would change about this would be to cut about 20-30 minutes. It clocks in at over 2 hours and drags in places.
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This one is coming up soon for me so I was argueing with my self if I should read your review. Well I did, but you did not spoil anything for me. Only raising my exoectations. This sounds good.
I try not to spoil the plots. I did include that they murder the husband but that occurs fairly early in the story.
I remember liking this one more than “The Postman Always Rings Twice” mostly because I felt Lana Turner a huge letdown in that film. Gritty – yes, most definitely.
One of the scenes that sticks with me in when Clara is in the kitchen exhausted and surrounded by an enormous pile of dishes after the party at the store/restaurant. Of course, that’s part of running a restaurant but you would never see it in a Hollywood movie of the era.
The word that comes to mind with respect to Lana Turner in “Postman” is “vapid.”
The elements you point out were exactly the ones I liked about this movie, so maybe this will stand up against the 1946 version.