TLS signed “Jim,” one page, 8.25 x 11, personal letterhead, April 20, 1952. Letter to his agent, Edgar Carter, who works in the office of H. N. Swanson, in full: "My play, the Postman Always Rings Twice, was written, as I no doubt have told you, after a talk with Sam Marx, as a means of by-passing the Hays office, as we thought, if a play passes, what is all the shooting fer about the picture? But when a producer wanted it, the Legal Department of Metro knew-eth not what the Scenario Department dideth, and claimed 113 royalty. Then Knopf, though he had sold his dramatic rights under the original contracts with Metro, claimed his 1/4 lb. of flesh, and as only about $97 was involved and I was in business with him willy-nilly, I had Morris pay it. That is how it stands now, a dreary tangle if it were ever reopened.
I therefore suggest you give Vilan an amiable brushoff, for these additional reasons: a) I have only one copy, and the trouble and expense of 'finding it and having it typed will be inconvenient for me now; b) his letter, as well as the practicalities of the threat, mean, inevitably, changes which I have no time for; c) the return, in publicity or money, will be utterly trifling; d) the remote possibility that he is a front man, a stalking horse, for Metro, and that promotion plans are afoot, with this play a vehicle, perhaps even on Broadway, for Miss Monroe, in which case real dough may be obtainable, and the proper tactic, I would think, would be to lie doggo and make them lead to us. Because, though they own dramatic rights, I own the play script. I happen to know they have mimeographed copies of it, and if he comes up with one, we'll know where he got it. Thanks and let me know what breaks." Cain adds in his own hand: "Do you have a copy?" In fine condition.
At the time this letter was written, The Postman Always Rings Twice, a story about a drifter and his involvement with the diabolical wife of a restaurant owner, had already had two film incarnations: a 1942 Italian version, and a 1946 Hollywood version starring Lana Turner and John Garfield. The explicit content of the novel—sex, alcohol, and murder—took 12 years to rework into a screenplay tame enough to comply with the Hays Production Code office. Though Cain here believes that "plans are afoot," no film or play based on his story was ever produced for Marilyn Monroe.
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