A very interesting aspect to the comparison of the Garfield/Turner POSTMAN
ALWAYS RINGS TWICE to the Nicholson/Lange version is the way Cora is
filmed. In Turner's version, she drops something (or he does?) and the
camera with him (ie. from his point of view)  slowly pans up her body
beginning with her feet (where he has lunged for the dropped object) and
proceeds up past her naked knees and short skirt. In contrast, Nicholson's
(and ours) first view of Lange's Cora is caught through the swinging doors
to the kitchen where she works over a grill in a worn looking shift. The
Code necessitated some very obvious signals in lieu of more open dispalys
of sexual action. Lange's Cora achieves a greater aura of mystery and,
arguably, I think, agency in the plotting against her husband and in her
sexual liaison with Nicholson's character. Turner, probably a more limited
actress in the first place (hence Sirk's IMITATION?) is filmed to denote
sexuality rather than being asked to help create it. The Code in this way
forced Turner to be "coded" almost completely as "sex" whereas Lange's
character's sexuality plays a more causal role in the plot. The difference
in the way each Cora is introduced is an ironic comment on the effect of
the Hayes Code, I think.

On Mon, 15 Nov 1999, Peter Warren wrote:

> Louie: As some of the replies to your query have indicated, the major
> difference between classic and current film noir femmes fatales was the
> Hollywood Production Code, which was finally abandoned in the mid sixties.
> While it was acceptable to show greed (allowing for "compensating moral
> values") overt sexuality was not allowed - particularly female. After all,
> it was the aggressive, if comical, sexual come-ons of Mae West  - and the
> androgony of Marlene Dietrich - which finally made the Hays Office
> implement the Code - thanks mainly to the Catholic Church's Legion of
> Decency  and its threat to boycott all Paramount Studios movies. (Both Mae
> and Marlene were under contract to the studio). Also, social movements such
> as female equality helped the neo-noir females to show their sexuality, as
> well as their classic-noir greed and manipulation of the often weak male
> protagonist. A worthwhile exercise is to compare the 1946 and 1981 versions
> of THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, particularly the seduction scenes. Also,
> DOUBLE INDEMNITY in 1944 and BODY HEAT (a virtual remake) in 1981.
> Peter Warren
>
> ----------
> > From: louie reayner <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: QUERY:femme fatales of 90's
> > Date: Monday, November 15, 1999 6:22 AM
> >
> > Hi,
> > I am researching the change between the femme fatales of the early noir
> > period and those of the nineties. In particular, I am searching for any
> > tit-bits on the femmes of the 90's. If anyone can provide any examples
> > of how the new femme differs to that of the old then I would be indebted
> to
> > them.
> >
> > Thankyou.........Louie Rayner.
> >
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