The Postman Always Rings Twice
A restless wife conspires with a drifter to kill her domineering husband, risking betrayal and deadly consequences as their illicit passion spirals out of control.
“You can get away with anything. Once.”
Synopsis
A sensuous wife of a lunch wagon proprietor becomes involved in a passionate affair with a rootless drifter and plots to murder her Greek husband.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 135+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Graeme CliffordShot by Sven NykvistScored by Michael SmallDesigned by George JenkinsSound by Bob Henderson Nm0376583Costumes by Dorothy Jeakins
Box Office
1981 · Box office
⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 1.0× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$12.4M
Also known as
- Wenn der Postmann zweimal klingeltde
- (Flemish, literal title)De postbode belt altijd tweemaal
- El cartero siempre llama dos veceses
- Le facteur sonne toujours deux foisfr
- Il postino suona sempre due volteit
- (Bulgarian)Пощальонът винаги звъни два пъти
Release dates around the world4 countries · showhide
- United StatesMar 20, 1981
- FranceMay 17, 1981
- SpainMay 27, 1981
- AustraliaJun 4, 1981
Companies
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Cast & Crew
135 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Jack Nicholson
as Frank Chambers
Jessica Lange
as Cora Papadakis
John Colicos
as Nick Papadakis
Michael Lerner
as Mr. Katz
Michael Lerner Nm0503627
as Mr. Katz
John P Ryan
as Kennedy
Anjelica Huston
as Madge
William Traylor
as Sackett
Thomas Hill
as Barlow
Jon Van Ness
as Motorcycle Cop
Brian Farrell
as Mortenson
Raleigh Bond
as Insurance Salesman
Supporting cast
38William Newman
as Man from Home Town
Albert Henderson
as Art Beeman
Ken Magee
as Scoutmaster
Eugene Peterson
as Doctor
Don Calfa
as Goebel
Louis Turenne
as Ringmaster
Charles B Jenkins
as Gas Station Attendant
Dick Balduzzi
as Sign Man #1
John Furlong
as Sign Man #2
Sam Edwards
as Ticket Clerk
Betty Cole
as Grandmother
Joni Palmer
as Granddaughter
Ron Flagge
as Shoeshine Man
Lionel Mark Smith
as Crapshooter
Brion James
as Crapshooter
Frank Arno
as Crapshooter
Virgil Frye
as Crapshooter
Kenneth Cervi
as Crapshooter
Chris Rellias
as Greek Party
Theodoros A Karavidas
as Greek Party
Basil J Fovos
as Greek Party
Nick Hasir
as Greek Party
Demetrios Liappas
as Greek Party
James O Connell Nm0640083
as Judge
William H Mcdonald
as Bailiff
Elsa Raven
as Matron
Kopi Sotiropulos
as Greek Mourner
Tom Maier
as Twin Oaks Customer
Glenn Shadix
as Twin Oaks Customer
Tani Guthrie
as Twin Oaks Customer
Carolyn Coates
as Twin Oaks Customer
Jim S Cash
as Twin Oaks Customer
Christopher Lloyd
as The Salesman
James P Axiotis
as Dancer
Linda Bastiaannet
as Snake Lady
Morgan Blanchard
as Boy Scout
Luther Fear
as Jailer
Chuck Liddell
as Boy Scout
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
4Other crew
83Ken Ryan
accountant (as Kenneth Ryan)
Kimberly Ray
apprentice editor
Mary Andrews
apprentice editor
Joseph Hurley
assistant art director
Blanche Bisbing
assistant auditor
Michael Nash
assistant camera
Earl L Clark
assistant camera (as Earl Clark)
Martin G Beazell
assistant camera (as Martin Beazell)
Tim Tobin
assistant editor (as Timothy Tobin)
Arthur Shippee
assistant property master (uncredited)
Nicholas Korda
assistant sound effects editor (as Nicholas Vincent Korda)
Trixie Flynn
assistant: Mr. Nicholson
Parents Guide
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