The Last Turning

The first of the four versions of "postman always rings twice" is not uninteresting.Its main asset is Michel Simon's presence:he was one of the greatest French actors ever and he easily outshines Fernand Gravey and Corinne Luchaire as the lovers and all the other actors who would take on the hubby's part.It does not cut,however,Visconti's version and even Tay Garnett's in my humble opinion;on the other hand ,I've always thought that the Rafelson Nicholsonesque version was overblown and the weakest of the lot.

Pierre Chenal would never equal this success:the end of his career never finds back the noir atmosphere of his pre-war movies."La foire aux Chimères" ,his chef d'oeuvre, was a different matter.

Rootless Fernand Gravey bums a meal off gas station/cafe owner Michel Simon. Simon takes a liking to him and offers him a job handling the pumps at night. Gravey isn't interested until he sees Simon's wife, Corinne Luchaire. Soon they are hot and heavy with each other, and start to think about killing the clueless, disgusting Simon.

It's the first movie version of James M. Cain's THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, and it's far more frank about what's going on and the weakness of Gravey and Luchaire. Simon plays one of his monsters, a man who disgusts his wife, whines, and loves everyone indiscriminately. Charles Spaak's script is capably brought to the screen by Pierre Chenal.

Its not widely known..but "le dernier tournant" has been the First Adaptation of James M Cain Novel 's "Postman always ring twice" and by far the best..Just watch France Greatest Actor Michel Simon play !! the movie came out immediately before Nazis occupied France and the Sensual Corinne Luchaire was sadly thrown in jail after 1944 because of her father's German sympathy...Still it is even better than the Visconti 'Ossessione so you musn't miss this one !

Suggested by the infamous Snyder/Gray murder case with a plot derived from Zola's 'Therese Raquin', James M. Cain's potboiler 'The Postman always rings twice' was recognised as a classic of its type on publication and within twelve years had been thrice adapted for film. Unusually all three have merit and are also linked in one way or another.

First off the block is this version by Pierre Chenal which despite its budgetary and technical constraints is an excellent example of French Film Noir as well as being extraordinarily faithful to the original. Although the chemistry between Fernand Gravet, better known for his lighter roles and the enigmatic, ill-fated Corinne Luchaire is palpable, director Chenal has eschewed the erotic element and in keeping with Michel Simone's star status has enlarged the role of the inconvenient husband so as to make the character more rounded. Of course one can never have enough of this magnificent actor. The lion tamer is played by Madame Chenal, the luscious Czech-born Florence Marly whilst inveterate scene-stealer Robert le Vigan excels as the blackmailer.

It is to be lamented that the film has been doomed to obscurity which no doubt stems from its being banned twice, once by the Nazi censor because of Chenal being Jewish and again by the French as le Vigan had been found guilty of collaboration and decamped to South America whilst Luchaire was sentenced in 1946 to ten years of 'dégradation nationale' and her father executed for their pro-Vichy sympathies. Luchaire did not live to complete her sentence as she succumbed to TB at twenty-eight.

Ironically it was being given a French translation of Cain's novel by Jean Renoir that prompted Visconti to make his first masterpiece 'Ossessione'. The subject matter plus its earthy sensuality proved too much for the Fascist authorities and it was furthermore prevented by Copyright issues from being shown in America until 1976! Cain died in 1977 and one wonders if he ever got to view it.

The Hollywood version directed by Tay Garnet has fared best of all in the public's consciousness and unsurprisingly the film's star Lana Turner dismissed Bob Rafelson's no holds barred version from 1981 as 'pornographic trash'.

The last line of the movie : "Le jour se lève." (=it's daybreak ) ; it is also the title of Marcel Carné's 1939 masterpiece .It won't be lost on a 2020 audience who knows both works.

Both really fit into the black picture of the situation of the country in 1939;both works were blacklisted by the office catholique du cinema ;Carné's work was even forbidden by the military censorship as demoralizing.

Chenal's work has to be upgraded : it was not the first time he had broached film noir (see "La maison du maltais " and "l'alibi") ,but it was the apex of his pre-war years ;five years after being published in the US ,it took a lot of guts to transfer such a filthy story to the screen; its atmosphere surpasses that of Tay Garnett which looks almost "hollywoodian" compared to it : a murky one ;although the action takes place in the south of France ,never some sunlight does break through on this dark gloomy gas station,even after the owner's death ,or should I say mainly after the murder ; the scene when the couple dances a valse musette to the tune of Simon's accordion looks almost like a danse macabre ;it should be a joyful relief , it's painful to watch.

Of course Michel Simon is prodigious ,but Corinne Luchaire also rises to the occasion ; her playing was modern for the time and she easily outclasses glamorous Lana Turner .Her Cora seems unable to react to events ,she had never been happy (she told it so to Frank) and she knew she never would .She seems to be living in a dream (or a nightmare ) in the "accident" scene . Gravey ,on the other hand , is just okay ,and John Garfield would outshine him.

This movie and "La Foire Aux Chimères" (1946) are Chenal's towering achievements ;in both movies , a man (Simon in this one, Von Stroheim in the other one) is victim of a femme fatale (who is also a victim herself ).

Corinne Luchaire's fate was as cruel as Cora's.