Trivia / The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

• Actor-Inspired Element: When plotting the characterization for the role of Cora, Jessica Lange decided the young woman had first tried to make it as a movie actress in Hollywood, struck out, and eventually married. When Jack Nicholson learned this, he gave her the autobiography of trashy, blonde, B-movie actress Barbara Payton (I Am Not Ashamed, published in 1963.) Lange based her character's history partly on Payton, who, like her, was born in Cloquet, Minnesota.
• Actor-Shared Background: Nick, a Greek immigrant, is played by Greek-Canadian actor John Colicos.
• Completely Different Title: In Brazil, it was translated under the title O destino bate à sua porta ("Fate knocks on your door").
• Dawson Casting: Jack Nicholson was 43 when he made this film, and Jessica Lange was 31. In the novel, Frank Chambers character is 32, and Cora Papadakis is 21.
• Disowned Adaptation: Lana Turner, who played Cora in the 1946 adaptation, confessed to never watching this film, but referred to it as "pornographic trash" based on what she saw in the ads and from hearing about the "table scene."
• Saved from Development Hell: Development started in the early seventies, with Raquel Welch in mind for Cora and Hal Ashby directing.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Kim Basinger tested for the role of Cora. Meryl Streep turned it down.
  • Elia Kazan was screen-tested for Cora's husband.
  • Linda Blair was considered for Madge.
• Word of Saint Paul: When plotting the characterization for the role of Cora, Jessica Lange decided that the young woman had first tried to make it as a movie actress in Hollywood, struck out, and eventually married. When Jack Nicholson learned this, he gave her the autobiography of trashy, blonde, B-movie actress Barbara Payton (I Am Not Ashamed, published in 1963.) Lange based her character's history partly on Payton, who, like her, was born in Cloquet, Minnesota.

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