When the postman rings twice (Roman)

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When the postman rings twice (original title: The Postman Always Rings Twice) is an American detective novel by James M. Cain from 1934. The first German translation by Hilde Spiel and Peter de Mendelssohn appeared in 1950 under the title The bill without the Landlord at Rowohlt Verlag , Hamburg. This transmission has been reissued regularly to this day, but since 1981 under the title When the Postman rings twice .

action

The main character and narrator is in the times of the Great Depression in the 1930s herumvagabundierende years Frank Chambers. He is hired by gas station and restaurant owner Nick Papadakis as a laborer. He is married to the attractive young Cora, with whom Chambers falls in love at first sight. She's the main reason the stray Chambers sticks to his job. Cora also feels more than affection for Chambers, but she is afraid of him and the consequences that could result from a relationship. When Papadakis is out shopping in town, Cora and Chambers develop a relationship. Chambers persuades Cora to leave Papadakis. However, they return because Cora does not want to give up her property. Both decide to kill Papadakis, which they succeed after a second attempt. The drunk Papadakis is thrown down a cliff in his car. Both are suspected by the prosecutor, but are released with the help of a clever lawyer. When Cora and Chambers are later driving, there is a serious car accident that ends with the death of Cora. Although this time it was clearly an accident, Chambers is sent back to prison, charged with murder again, and sentenced to death. Although this time he is innocent, he takes the punishment after the loss of Cora and thus atone for the unproven first murder.

title

The title has nothing to do with the plot, as there is no postman in the entire book and no reference is made to one. When asked about the reason for the title, Cain said it was related to the publication history of the novel: it had already been rejected by 13 publishers before it was accepted on the 14th. When asked what the book was going to be called, he decided to rely on his experience and suggested The Postman Always Rings Twice . The English title has a double meaning : The Postman Always Rings Twice not only means “The postman always rings twice”, but also “There is always a second chance”. This applies to both Cain and various situations in the book. Since this play on words does not exist in German, a different title was initially used for the translation. Due to the successful film adaptation, however, a deliberate mistranslation based on the English title (Postman means “postman” or “postman”, but not “postman”) was chosen later.

Film adaptations

There are several film versions of this material:

In terms of motifs, Billy Wilder's film thriller Woman Without a Conscience (original title: Double Indemnity ) from 1944 also ties in with Cain's novel. There is also an episode of the detective series The Model and the Snoop from 1985 with the original title The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice . This alludes to the fact that the two main actors play through possible solutions to an unsolved murder from the 1940s with the same scenario as in the novel (husband, wife, lover; husband is murdered) in two black and white dream sequences.

literature

  • Roy Hoopes: The Biography of James M. Cain ; Southern Illinois University Press 1982; p. 244ff
  • Günther Grosser: James M. Cain - The Postman Always Rings Twice. The story of a popular novel ; in: Schwarze Beute, thriller magazine 7; ed. by Ruth Rendell; rororo 1992; p.143ff