Film noir the most influential of the early noirs. A slew of now-renowned noir "bad girls" followed, such as those played by Rita Hayworth in "Gilda" (1946), Lana Turner in "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946), Ava Gardner in "The Killers" (1946), and Jane Greer in "Out of the Past" (1947). The iconic noir counterpart to the femme fatale, the private eye, came to the fore in films such as "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), with Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, and "Murder, My Sweet" (1944), with Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe. The prevalence of the private eye as a lead character declined
Lana Turner in a lead role opposite John Garfield in "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946), a film noir based on James M. Cain's debut novel of the same name. In the film, she portrays Cora, a diner proprietor who devises a plan to murder her husband with a drifter who has become her lover. The now-classic film noir marked a turning point in Turner's career as her first femme fatale role. Reviews of the film, and in particular, Turner's performance, were glowing, with Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" writing it was "the role of her career." "Life" magazine named