Cinema
The Last Turning
Le Dernier Tournant
Pierre Chenal · 1939
Synopsis
Frank, a vagrant, gets himself hired by Nick Marino, who runs a roadside garage with his young wife, Cora. He becomes Cora's lover, and the two lovers decide to get rid of the husband, notably to collect his insurance money. The story moves forward in an atmosphere of dust and fatality, in which desire gradually turns into conspiracy.
Context
The film is the first screen adaptation of James M. Cain's novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, published in 1934, before Visconti's in 1943 and the American version of 1946. Charles Spaak and Henri Torrès wrote the adaptation, and Fernand Gravey, Corinne Luchaire and Michel Simon play the roles of the trio. The photography by Christian Matras and Claude Renoir already gives it the lighting of a film noir. It was released on 17 May 1939.
Who it is for
A crime drama in black and white, an hour and a half long, dry and fatalistic; to be compared with the other adaptations of the novel.
Prizes and reception
The first of a series of famous adaptations of the same novel; Tamasa now handles its international distribution.
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