Reviewed by Bruce Cantwell "Man Wanted," says the sign outside the Twin Oaks diner/gas station on the outskirts of Los Angeles. As Frank Chambers (John Garfield) gets out of the car, the driver he hitched a ride with wonders why he has such itchy feet. "Well, I've never liked any job I've ever had. Maybe the next one is the one I've always been lookin' for." Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway) certainly seems happy to have him aboard at Twin Oaks. He throws a burger on the grill to give Frank a taste of the good eatin' in store for him as his helper before he's called away by a customer in need of a fill-up. When a tube of lipstick rolls across the diner floor and Frank looks up to see Cora (Lana Turner) standing there in a halter top and white shorts with legs that go all the way to the floor, he begins to seriously consider the benefits package. Frank tells Nick that he'll take the job. Nick is overjoyed. "I'll go tell my wife you're gonna stay." D'oh! Nick needs Frank to help around the place. Nick is twice Cora's age. Cora wants to make something of the place, for it to be a success. She has the hots for Frank but she's a practical girl. She's not going to leave her meal ticket for a two-bit drifter. To complicate matters, Nick doesn't seem to be particularly jealous. He plays the juke box and tries to strum his guitar as Frank and Cora dance together (close). He doesn't mind that they go off to the beach together to "cool off." He's got something else on his mind. It would serve Nick right if he met with some kind of accident... Novelist James M. Cain was the prime literary literary counterpart of film noir. Besides "The Postman Always Rings Twice," he gave us "Double Indemnity" with the same damn plot and "Mildred Pierce" less hard-boiled. As immitated as his hard-boiled style is today it's to Cain's credit that his big, bold stories still work their magic. Cain gets ample support from Cecil Kellaway's affable Nick. It's hard to have to kill a guy like that. Kellaway makes Garfield and Turner's trepidation ring true. Hume Cronyn also makes his mark as a slithery defense lawyer who soon has the amorous couple at each others' throats. Check Lowest Price at Half.com

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