Femme fatale in "The Killers" and Cora (Lana Turner) in "The Postman Always Rings Twice", based on novels by Ernest Hemingway and James M. Cain respectively, manipulate men into killing their husbands. In the Hitchcock film "The Paradine Case" (1947), Alida Valli's character causes the deaths of two men and the near destruction of another. Another frequently cited example is the character Jane played by Lizabeth Scott in "Too Late for Tears" (1949); during her quest to keep some dirty money from its rightful recipient and her husband, she uses poison, lies, sexual teasing and a gun to keep men wrapped around
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film) February 1934, before Cain's novel was published, a synopsis of his story was submitted to the Production Code Administration (PCA), which reviewed movie scripts against the morals code established for motion picture industry, script by RKO executive Merian C. Cooper. After reviewing the synopsis, the PCA persuaded RKO to abandon its plans to film Cain's story, calling it "definitely unsuitable for motion picture production." After Cain's novel was released, Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros. expressed interest in the property, but Warner Bros. quickly rejected the story, fearful that any attempt to get a screen story out of it would end