Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice is a product of the Great Depression, and Garnet’s The Postman Always Rings Twice is that of a post-war conservative American society. Cain’s hardboiled novel and Garnet’s film noir have the same plot, but there are subtle differences in their details. These details show two perspectives toward American society and American culture. Cain’s novel focuses on the failure of an effort to find happiness, which is determined by an evitable destiny. But “crime and punishment” is emphasized in Garnet’s film. Hardboiled novel is a subversive genre, and it attacks the rotten and materialistic capitalist system. But the background of the film noir is a conservative American society. This era is characterized by an elevation of woman’s status, which disturbs a male-dominated order. In a film, Femme Fatale’s sexual attraction leads a male hero to crime and death. The film is a story of crime and punishment. In a nutshell, Cain’s novel shows the tragic world derived from the corrupted capitalism while Garnet’s film shows that of the retribution for a crime in opulent American society.