Editing Lana Turner (section)

===1946–1948: Expansion to dramatic roles===
[[File:Lana Turner on set of 'The Postman Always Rings Twice'.png|thumb|upright=.8|left|alt=Woman in white wearing a towel on her head, clutching her chest|Turner as Cora Smith in ''[[The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film)|The Postman Always Rings Twice]]'' (1946), considered by many critics to be her career-defining performance]]
After the war, Turner was cast in a lead role opposite [[John Garfield]] in ''[[The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film)|The Postman Always Rings Twice]]'' (1946), a [[film noir]] based on [[James M. Cain]]'s debut [[The Postman Always Rings Twice (novel)|novel of the same name]].<ref>{{cite web|work=The New York Times|title=The Story is the Same But Hollywood Has Changed|author=Maslin, Janet|date=April 26, 1981|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/26/movies/film-view-the-story-is-the-same-but-hollywood-has-changed.html|access-date=May 23, 2018}}</ref> She portrayed Cora, an ambitious woman married to a stodgy, older owner of a roadside diner, who falls in love with a drifter and their desire to be together motivates them to murder her husband.{{sfn|Brook|2013|p=120}} The classic film noir marked a turning point in Turner's career as her first [[femme fatale]] role.{{sfn|Langer|2001|loc=event occurs at 36:18}} Reviews of the film, including Turner's performance, were glowing, with Bosley Crowther of ''The New York Times'' writing it was "the role of her career".{{sfn|Langer|2001|loc=event occurs at 38:45}} ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine named the film its "Movie of the Week" in April 1946, and noted that both Turner and Garfield were "aptly cast" and "take over the screen, [creating] more fireworks than the Fourth of July".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Life|title=Movie of the Week: The Postman Always Rings Twice|date=April 29, 1946|via=Google Books|publisher=Time, Inc|issn=0024-3019 |page=129|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FQEAAAAMBAJ&q=lana+turner+garfield&pg=PA129}}</ref> Turner commented on her decision to take the role:

{{blockquote|I finally got tired of making movies where all I did was walk across the screen and look pretty. I got a big chance to do some real acting in ''The Postman Always Rings Twice'', and I'm not going to slip back if I can help it. I tried to persuade the studio to give me something different. But every time I went into my argument about how bad a picture was, they'd say, "well, it's making a fortune". That licked me.<ref name="concentrate">{{cite news|title=Heavy Drama Her Dish Now, Says Lana|author=MacPherson, Virginia|work=[[Democrat and Chronicle]]|location=Rochester, New York|date=October 12, 1946|page=11|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21981482/democrat_and_chronicle/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>}}

''The Postman Always Rings Twice'' became a major box office success, which prompted the studio to take more risks on Turner, casting her outside of the glamorous sex-symbol roles for which she had come to be known.<ref name="concentrate"/> In August 1946, it was announced she would replace [[Katharine Hepburn]] in the big-budget historical drama ''[[Green Dolphin Street (film)|Green Dolphin Street]]'' (1947), a role for which she darkened her hair and lost 15 pounds.<ref name="concentrate"/><ref name="dolphin">{{cite news|title=Lana Turner To Play Lead In 'Green Dolphin Street|author=Manners, Dorothy |work=[[St. Petersburg Times]]|location=St. Petersburg, Florida|date=August 3, 1946 | page=13|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21981517/tampa_bay_times/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The film was produced by [[Carey Wilson (writer)|Carey Wilson]], who insisted on casting Turner based on her performance in ''The Postman Always Rings Twice''. In the film, she portrayed the daughter of a wealthy patriarch who pursues a relationship with a man in love with her sister.<ref name="dolphin"/> Turner later recalled she was surprised about replacing Hepburn, saying: "I'm about the most un-Hepburnish actress on the lot. But it was just what I wanted to do."<ref name=concentrate/> It was her first starring role that did not center on her looks. In an interview, Turner said: "I even go running around in the jungles of New Zealand in a dress that's filthy and ragged. I don't wear any make-up and my hair's a mess." Nevertheless, she insisted she would not give up her glamorous image.<ref name="concentrate"/> In the midst of filming ''Green Dolphin Street'', Turner began an affair with actor [[Tyrone Power]],{{sfn|Langer|2001|loc=event occurs at 39:40}}{{sfn|Bellows|2006|p=192}} whom she considered to be the love of her life.{{Sfn|Wayne|2003|p=178}} She discovered she was pregnant by him in the fall of 1947, but chose to have an abortion.{{Sfn|Wayne|2003|p=178}}<ref name=donahue>Turner, Lana (September 29, 1982). "Guest: Lana Turner". ''[[The Phil Donahue Show]]'' (Interview). Interviewed by [[Phil Donahue]]. [[Multimedia Entertainment]].</ref> During this time, she also had romantic affairs with [[Frank Sinatra]]{{sfn|Langer|2001|loc=event occurs at 32:44}} and [[Howard Hughes]], the latter of which lasted for 12 weeks in late 1946.{{sfn|Brown|Broeske| 2004 |pages=199–201}}
[[File:Lana Turner by Paul Hesse 1946.jpg|thumb|upright|Turner by Paul Hesse, appearing on the cover of ''Photoplay'' magazine, 1946
]]
Turner's next film was the romantic drama ''[[Cass Timberlane]]'', in which she played a young woman in love with an older judge – a role for which [[Jennifer Jones]], [[Vivien Leigh]], and [[Virginia Grey]] had also been considered.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[American Film Institute]] Catalog|title=Cass Timberlane|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180618033237/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/25492?cxt=filmography|archive-date=June 18, 2018|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/25492?cxt=filmography}}</ref> As of early 1946, Turner was set for the role, but schedules with ''Green Dolphin Street'' almost prohibited her from taking it, and by late 1946, she was nearly recast.<ref>{{cite news|title=News Of The Movies|author=Manners, Dorothy|work= The San Antonio Light|location=San Antonio, Texas|date= August 3, 1946|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/san-antonio-light-aug-03-1946-p-6/|via=Newspaper Archive}}</ref> Production of ''Cass Timberlane'' was exhausting for Turner, because it was shot in between retakes of ''Green Dolphin Street''.{{sfn|McClelland|1992|p=292}} ''Cass Timberlane'' earned Turner favorable reviews, with ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' noting: "Turner is the surprise of the picture via her top performance thespically. In a role that allows her the gamut from tomboy to the pangs of childbirth and from being another man's woman to remorseful wife, she seldom fails to acquit herself creditably."<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|url=https://variety.com/1946/film/reviews/cass-timberlane-1200415122/|title=Cass Timberlane|date=December 31, 1946|access-date=May 25, 2018|author=''Variety'' Staff}}</ref>

In August 1947, immediately upon completion of ''Cass Timberlane'', Turner agreed to appear as the female lead in the World War II-set romantic drama ''[[Homecoming (1948 film)|Homecoming]]'' (1948), in which she was again paired with Clark Gable, portraying a female army lieutenant who falls in love with an American surgeon (Gable).<ref name="homecoming">{{cite news|title=Hepburn's Screen Career Unaffected by Frankness|author= [[Louella O. Parsons|Parsons, Louella]]|work=St. Petersburg Times|location=St. Petersburg, Florida|date= August 12, 1947|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21981576/tampa_bay_times/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She was the studio's first choice for the role, but it was reluctant to offer her the part, considering her overbooked schedule.<ref name="homecoming"/> ''Homecoming'' was well received by audiences, and Turner and Gable were nicknamed "the team that generates steam".{{sfn|Valentino|1976|p=158}} By this period, Turner was at the zenith of her film career, and was not only MGM's most popular star, but also one of the ten highest-paid women in the United States, with annual earnings of $226,000.{{sfn|Morella|Epstein|1971|p=82}}{{sfn|Langer|2001|loc=event occurs at 42:51}}