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) car. They succeed in killing Nick but, things go wrong and Frank is seriously injured. Sackett, who has been following them from the start, greets Cora as she emerges from the cliff side, crying for help. As a tactic intended to get Cora and Frank to turn on each other, the District Attorney files murder charges against only Cora. Although this ploy works, a clever twist by Cora's lawyer, Arthur Keats, (Hume Cronyn) prevents Cora's full confession from coming into the hands of the prosecutor. With Sackett's idea having failed to generate any new evidence for the prosecution, Cora benefits