BBC Radio 4, 30 November 2013
Memorably filmed - albeit in bowdlerized
form - in 1946 with Lana Turner and John Garfield in the main roles, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a morality
tale that twists and turns until one of the protagonists meets his expected comeuppance. The story focuses on life amongst
the dispossessed; those who have failed to achieve their personal American Dreams and will employ every means possible - whether
legal or illegal - to achieve their aims. Throughout the tale Frank Chambers (Ronan Summers) keeps looking forward to
the day when everything will be perfect and he and Cora Papadakis (Samantha Dakin) can live perfect lives together, but as
the story unfolds, we realize that this time will never come. However along the way author James M. Cain takes pot-shots
at a legal system where niceties invariably prevent justice from being done, and lawyers such as Sackett (Kerry Shale)
inevitably profit from their clients' misfortunes.
The
Postman offers terrific possibilities for melodramatic presentation on any media. As Kate McAll's production
unfolded, however, I became less and less concerned about what happened to the characters. Perhaps this was due to the
rather hackneyed structure of the adaptation, in which Frank acted as first person narrator re-telling the events
of the book direct to listeners. This technique recalled that used in many of the productions in Radio 4's
Marlowe season, broadcast in 2011: if it's a hard-boiled American text of the Thirties or the Forties, use the cynical
narrator. Add to that the American accents, which tended to waver somewhat - especially as the tale approached its climax.
Nonetheless the story had a
certain ghoulish fascination, if only to remind us of the depths to which people will sink in order to achieve their aims.
