James M. Cain*His Books Were Movies
Double Indemnity I read before viewing the movie and I immediately desired the movie and a list of all his writings. There is a pretty good collection of his writings in the house now.
James M. Cain became famous with his first book "The Postman Always Rings Twice" written in 1934. The movies made from his books are the film noir type. I'm surprised that Squidoo had no WHO on him. Well, I'm accepting the challenge and will spiff up this lens in the coming weeks. Stay tuned because....
"It Can Be Done."
Even if it can be done, it's no good."
"It can be done, and it's good."
"Oh, you're telling me what's good."
"Yeah, I'm telling you."
Serenade by James M. Cain 1937
"Just do it" isn't a line from Cain but it is close.
It is said that he aquired his dialog style from a bricklayer named Ike. Many writers are better known, such as Chandler, Steinbeck and Faulkner but according to William Preston Robertson Cain has not got his due. Reading his article I had to agree. I just bet a few people reading this lens have never heard of him.
Here is a portion of what Robertson has to say.
"..very few films of any era bear a resemblance to the spirit of Cain's writing, the best of which was penned long before film noir existed. Somewhere in the shadows of film noir, James M Cain the writer has got lost. No one would rate Cain a Nobel-worthy man of letters - except maybe Albert Camus, who admitted basing his existentialist work The Outsider on the Cain template. Nevertheless, at the very least Cain deserves a seat alongside the other major fiction-writers of his day. He deserves to be taken seriously, not as some kind of a miner hammering out rough ore for the Hollywood refinery, but for what he was: a first-rate writer of fiction."
Read the whole article "Prince of Darkness".
Two "Double Indemnity" Videos
Many James Cain novels are movies.
Double Indemnity (Perdición), 1944
curated content from YouTube
Video 2
Film noir was made from Cain novels.
curated content from YouTube
James M Cain on Flickr
Log on to flickr and search the postman always rings twice. Many entertaining pictures from the movie, mailbox photos, and film noir.
The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain. Pocket Books, 1953.
Thanks Norman. We appreciate you.
edited to add: this is my 1000th photo upload to Flickr!
Who Should Be the New Mildred Pierce?
Someone remake Mildred Pierce.
Painting courtesy of catfunt on flickr
I like some remakes. The Postman Always Rings Twice with Jessica Lange was good. Stella was a remake with Bette Midler. Bill Murray's the Razor's Edge equals a thumbs down.
Which actress of today could play Joan Crawford's role of Mildred with all the Forties trimmings.
Add your choice if she isn't on the list.
1
Gillian Anderson
2 points
2
Angelina Jolie
0 points
Find Authors Writing in the Thirties and Forties.
The Good Earth (Enriched Classics)
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/24/2009) 
Sons (Good Earth Trilogy, Vol 2)
Amazon Price: $9.32 (as of 12/24/2009)
A Summer of Faulkner: As I Lay Dying/The Sound and the Fury/Light in August (Oprah's Book Club)
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/24/2009)
Light in August (The Corrected Text)
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/24/2009)
Cannery Row: (Centennial Edition)
Amazon Price: $9.75 (as of 12/24/2009)
Short But Sweet Bio of Cain by Me.
Cain was no lay about. He completed college with a B.A. at the age eighteen and later earned a masters. After college he tried several jobs including selling insurance, teaching and inspecting roads. In 1917 he landed a newspaper job. These years were spent with drinking, infidelities and finally divorcing and remarrying. 1931 took him and his second family to Hollywood. In 1934 "The Postman Always Rings Twice", plot plucked from an actual trial in NY, made him highly demanded.After Milred Pierce in 1941 his popularity faded , he married again and finally in 1947 married and finally settled for Florence McBeth, an opera singer like his mother. They spent the rest of their lives in Maryland and he continued to write, study classical music and lived the retired life. He died in 1977 at 85.
A study and website by William Marling,PH.D is very good for articles, movies, authors and books about the hard-boiled and film noir genre.
Vote for your favorite James M Cain stuff
Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930s and 40s: The Postman Always Rings Twice / They Shoot Horses, Don't They? / Thieves Like Us / The Big Clock / Nightmare ... / I Married a Dead Man (Library of America) by Horace McCoy, Kenneth Fearing, William Linds
Literature and film buffs will be delighted by thi more...1 point
Cain: The Biography of James M. Cain
?I never knew a writer who regarded [writing] as a more...1 point
The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and Selected Stories (Everyman's Library Classics) by James M. Cain
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)<br /><br / more...1 point
Three by Cain: Serenade, Love's Lovely Counterfeit, The Butterfly by James M. Cain
All three books are written with an enduring view more...0 points
Amazon.com is Good for Books/Can't Beat the Used Book Prices
Here are some Cain picks.
Cain: The Biography of James M. Cain
I need to read this. Then I can really round out this lens.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/24/2009)
Mildred Pierce (Crime Masterworks)
This is my favorite Cain book. I lived and worked in the Glendale-Pasadena area for forty years and this book put me in another decade. Very good place and character development.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/24/2009)
The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, and Selected Stories (Everyman's Library Classics)
The first two stories are about two people following each other into crime. Both involve dead husbands! And both are about double cross! Oh,dear. I like Cain's short, clean style that puts you in a scene with no mumbo jumbo. The characters deal with each other pretty fast and clear too.
Amazon Price: $16.50 (as of 12/24/2009)
Three by Cain: Serenade, Love's Lovely Counterfeit, The Butterfly
The on the road scenes in Serenade reminded me of being young. ...Counterfeit puts you in the thirties and Butterfly is a bit shocking and dusty.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/24/2009)
Sinful Woman
Amazon Price: (as of 12/24/2009)
Quick, what do you think of James M Cain?
After visting this lens would you be interested in a Cain book? Vote this poll and let's compare responses.
James M Cain in Film
![Double Indemnity [NON-US Format, Pal, Region2, Import - Great Britain]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41573V5FWPL._SL75_.jpg)
Double Indemnity [NON-US Format, Pal, Region2, Import - Great Britain]
Amazon Price: (as of 12/24/2009)
Mildred Pierce (Keepcase)
This movie is good, but I want a remake and a new script.
Will Gillian Anderson be a good Mildred?
Amazon Price: $5.79 (as of 12/24/2009)
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Amazon Price: $17.49 (as of 12/24/2009)
Slightly Scarlet
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/24/2009)
Link List to James M Cain
- http://www.eskimo.com/~noir/btitles/cain/index.shtml
- Get all the lowdown on Cain from the New York Times through the years.
Books About Film Noir
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, Third Edition
Amazon Price: $23.10 (as of 12/24/2009)
Film Noir
Amazon Price: $27.03 (as of 12/24/2009)
A Panorama of American Film Noir (1941-1953)
Amazon Price: $13.22 (as of 12/24/2009)
Film Noir Guide: 745 Films of the Classic Era, 1940-1959
Amazon Price: $60.00 (as of 12/24/2009)
Women in Film Noir
Amazon Price: $23.18 (as of 12/24/2009)
Check Out Film Noir on DVD
Kansas City Confidential (MGM Film Noir)
Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 12/24/2009)
Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 2 (Born to Kill / Clash by Night / Crossfire / Dillinger (1945) / The Narrow Margin (1952))
Amazon Price: $39.49 (as of 12/24/2009)
Whispering City
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 12/24/2009)
Road House (Fox Film Noir)
Amazon Price: $11.49 (as of 12/24/2009)
Well. Say That Then.
Shout out about James M Cain!
Share your stories, sightings, thoughts, rants, raves...
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- mbgphoto mbgphoto Jun 14, 2009 @ 7:28 am
- Sounds very interesting. I will have to check out his books. 5*
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- papawu papawu May 30, 2009 @ 3:28 pm
- Although I have heard of him, I am ashamed to admit to never having read any of his work, nor have I seen any of the adapted movies. However, you have piqued my interest and will be perusing his collection in the future. The way operate is, I select one author at a time and then go on to read everything they have ever written. I will keep him on my list.
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- jaye3000 jaye3000 May 12, 2009 @ 7:54 am
- I've heard of this, but have never seen it~ now I will. Great lens, can't wait for more:) 5 stars & a fav
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- MikeMoore MikeMoore Mar 19, 2009 @ 5:13 pm
- I have to admit, I'd never heard of Cain before I read this lens. Good job by the way. I've rated your lens and would like to welcome you to the Readers and Writers group.
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- ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen Feb 8, 2009 @ 5:46 am
- I like watching movies based on books I've read. I spend half the movie picking out the things that were left out.
I love the movies but I like the books better
Great lens
Lizzy
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- roysumit roysumit Dec 19, 2008 @ 9:12 am
- Nice and informative lens on Cain and thanks for presenting him here in your squidoo page. 5*.
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- chemrat chemrat Nov 23, 2008 @ 12:15 am
- Nice lens. I'm familiar with Cain, though probably not familiar enough. Welcome to http://www.squidoo.com/groups/crimefictiongroup. You might also enjoy http://www.squidoo.com/groups/crimefictiongroup and http://nearlynothingbutnovels.blogspot.com/
Best wishes, Jim
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- paperfacets paperfacets Oct 24, 2008 @ 2:48 pm | in reply to RickBasset
- Thanks, group leader. I'll visit the group lens often.
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- RickBasset RickBasset Oct 23, 2008 @ 1:22 pm
- Nice lens! Welcome to the "BOOKS ON SQUIDOO!" group.
Peace! :~)
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- poutine poutine Oct 22, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
- I love those movies but I had no idea who the author was.
Thanks for this lens.
Poutine
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by paperfacets
When I was young I dreamed of being a writer, but the path got lost along the way. After 40 years I am published,... (more)
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