The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film) confident you'll enjoy the resulting legal byplay that goes on between Hume Cronyn, as Miss Turner's lawyer, and Leon Ames, as the prosecuting attorney. As a matter of fact, Mr. Cronyn and Mr. Ames take most of the acting honors, and there is a decided letdown in the picture after a courtroom clash in which both of them participate with vast enthusiasm." Writing in 2000, critic Stephen MacMillan Moser appreciated Lana Turner's acting and wrote, "It is perhaps her finest work—from a body of work that includes very few truly stellar performances. She was a star, and not necessarily an
Lana Turner credits film noir "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946) advanced her career significantly and established her as a dramatic actress. She later appeared in the drama "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952) opposite Kirk Douglas. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, she also co-starred opposite Clark Gable in a total of four films, including "Slightly Dangerous" (1942), "Somewhere I'll Find You" (1943), and "Betrayed" (1954). After the critical and commercial failure of "Diane" (1956), MGM opted not to renew Turner's contract. At the time, her films with the studio had collectively earned over $50 million (). In 1957, she took a leading