Classic crime films adapted from James M. Cain novels

James Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892 – October 27, 1977) was an American journalist and novelist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labelling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the roman noir.

"I make no conscious effort to be tough, or hard-boiled, or grim, or any of the things I am usually called. I merely try to write as the character would write, and I never forget that the average man, from the fields, the streets, the bars, the offices and even the gutters of his country, has acquired a vividness of speech that goes beyond anything I could invent, and that if I stick to this heritage, this logos of the American countryside, I shall attain a maximum of effectiveness with very little effort."

(from the Preface to Double Indemnity)

Selected films adapted from Cain's novels.

• Ossessione, Italy, 1943, directed by Luchino Visconti (novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, uncredited)
• Double Indemnity, USA, 1944, directed by Billy Wilder (story The Baby in the Icebox)
• Mildred Pierce, USA, 1945, directed by Michael Curtiz
• The Postman Always Rings Twice, USA, 1946, directed by Tay Garnett
• Slightly Scarlet, USA, 1956, directed by Allan Dwan (novel Love's Lovely Counterfeit)
• Serenade, USA, 1956, directed by Anthony Mann
• Butterfly, USA, 1982, directed by Matt Cimber
• Girl in the Cadillac, USA, 1995, directed by Lucas Platt (novel The Enchanted Isle)
• The Postman Always Rings Twice, USA, 1981, directed by Bob Rafelson