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
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film) full of ball-bearings and pretending he had fatally hit his head falling in the bathtub. Things go awry when a police officer stops by and a cat causes a power outage. Cora does manage to knock Nick over the head and, while severely injuring him, he is not mortally wounded. The couple are thrilled when it is determined that Nick will be all right, and that he has no recollection of being struck by any outside source. They share a happy week, running the business together and enjoying their relationship. The police officer stops by one day and happens to