Rating: 
Summary: "So you've already started spending it."
Review: Jane Palmer (Lizabeth Scott) and her husband, Alan (Arthur Kennedy) are out one evening, when a bag of money literally lands in the back seat of their car. Alan wants to turn the money over to the police, but Jane sees it as the answer to all their problems. Jane persuades Alan to at least hide the money until they decide what to do with it. He gives in to her pleading, but then after she goes on a spending spree, he decides to hand the money over to the police. Jane is determined to keep it, and that means she'll get rid of anyone who stands in her way ...
Jane is an incredible character. She's cold, calculating and manipulative. From the start, when the money falls into her lap, she takes charge of the situation by grabbing the steering wheel and engaging in a high-speed chase. As a film noir femme fatale, she's on a level with those other two great wicked women, Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck in "Double Indemnity") and Cora Smith (Lana Turner in "The Postman Always Rings Twice"). Jane is bad, bad, bad.
Dan Duryea plays Danny Fuller, a hard-boiled, sleazy crook. He begins his relationship with Jane by pushing her around, but by the time she's done with him, he's in a perpetual drunken stupor, quivering, whining and obeying her orders. He feels guilty in spite of the fact that he tries to make light of their crimes by suggesting, "I say, let's kill these people in style." Danny might appear to be the brutal, muscle element of this criminal pair, but in reality, Jane dominates and controls their crimes. Both Lizabeth Scott and Dan Duryea are favourites of mine. Scott really makes a great deal of this role. Too often, she gets stuck as the supporting actress, but here she's in full force, and she shows exactly how well she can handle the starring role. She's almost kittenish when she wants to be, but always that cold emotional detachment lurks underneath the surface--even when she's turning on the charm.
As for the DVD quality of this Alpha version, it's poor; I'm not going to rate the film on its transfer, however. There were a couple of places where the DVD skips, and a word or two of the dialogue is missing as a result. At the very beginning, the film actually wobbled a bit, and a thin white line was at the right of the screen. There is a little crackling in spots, and the picture is too dark for the night scenes. Now, on the other hand, the DVD is inexpensive, so there's not too much to complain about. However, it's sad that this film is left to rot with a poor transfer. "Too Late For Tears" really deserves so much more. It's a classic film noir gem--displacedhuman
Rating: 
Summary: "I say let's kill 'em with style!"
Review: This film noir classic from 1949 has a very well-crafted plot. Lizabeth Scott & Arthur Kennedy play a married couple who have a bag filled with $60,000 thrown into their car by mistake! Lizabeth Scott wants to keep the money, but her husband wants to do the right thing & turn the money over to the cops. When the owner of the money (Dan Duryea) comes to collect she decides to get rid of her self-righteous hubby & split the money with Duryea! From then on, the tension builds as people become suspicious of Lizabeth Scott, who turns out to be much deadlier than Duryea figured. This little-known gem is highly recommended for film noir buffs. However, I want to warn you that although the movie is great, the transfer is not. There's some "jumpy" scenes, plenty of scratches visible, & the image quality is never totally clear. The sound quality isn't so hot either, & at times you can't even hear all they're saying! Considering the low cost of the dvd, these flaws are forgivable, but I'd love to see this great classic restored to its original glory.
Rating:
Summary: "I say let's kill 'em with style!"
Review: This film noir classic from 1949 has a very well-crafted plot. Lizabeth Scott & Arthur Kennedy play a married couple who have a bag filled with $60,000 thrown into their car by mistake! Lizabeth Scott wants to keep the money, but her husband wants to do the right thing & turn the money over to the cops. When the owner of the money (Dan Duryea) comes to collect she decides to get rid of her self-righteous hubby & split the money with Duryea! From then on, the tension builds as people become suspicious of Lizabeth Scott, who turns out to be much deadlier than Duryea figured. This little-known gem is highly recommended for film noir buffs. However, I want to warn you that although the movie is great, the transfer is not. There's some "jumpy" scenes, plenty of scratches visible, & the image quality is never totally clear. The sound quality isn't so hot either, & at times you can't even hear all they're saying! Considering the low cost of the dvd, these flaws are forgivable, but I'd love to see this great classic restored to its original glory.
Rating: 
Summary: Too late?
Review: This film SOUNDS like a good noir but is weak all round. Definitely NOT a classic or even close.I like Lizabeth Scott but I believe (after purchasing and viewing this DVD from Alpha-Video) that she needs a firm hand in direction.
The director, Byron Haskin was mostly known for Special Effects although he directed "War Of The Worlds", and did a good job, but most of his other films he directed are forgettable.
The rear panel credits him as "responsible for such classics as" "Arsenic And Old Lace", "Passage To Marseilles" & "They Drive By Night" for which he performed ONLY Special Effects. If you like Lizabeth Scott I would recommend "Dead Reckoning" and "The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers". I don't expect the greatest from Alpha-Video (oldies.com) because they transfer whatever they can get their hands on from Public Domain. Sometimes, as with "The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers", you get an "A" film with fairly good visual and sound quality overall, and sometimes you get barely acceptable. If you're expecting a hidden gem such as Edgar Ulmer's "Detour", you may be disappointed. Quality of DVD: *1/2/**** Sound: *1/2/**** Plot: ***/**** Acting: **/**** Direction: */**** I would not recommend this film too much.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Film, Terrible DVD
Review: Too Late For Tears is a decent film and for fans of Film Noir, it is a real kick. Lizabeth Scott leaves a trail of dead bodies, lies and deceit that is classic noir. She could have used better direction, but the film still holds up. That said, this new release from the Image "Dark City" collection is so technically awfull, it is an example of outright fraud. At this price, to release such a poor transfer with sound like this constitues "Grand Theft Video". No effort has been made to clean-up any part of the film. You might expect this from a $2.00 Garage Sale purchase, but not from a new release. It looks like a simple copy of the horrid Alpha release. If you like Film Noir, please join me in wrting Image Entertainment to let them know how offended you are by this flim-flam tactic. Enough Said.
Rating:
Summary: Good Film, Terrible DVD
Review: Too Late For Tears is a decent film and for fans of Film Noir, it is a real kick. Lizabeth Scott leaves a trail of dead bodies, lies and deceit that is classic noir. She could have used better direction, but the film still holds up. That said, this new release from the Image "Dark City" collection is so technically awfull, it is an example of outright fraud. At this price, to release such a poor transfer with sound like this constitues "Grand Theft Video". No effort has been made to clean-up any part of the film. You might expect this from a $2.00 Garage Sale purchase, but not from a new release. It looks like a simple copy of the horrid Alpha release. If you like Film Noir, please join me in wrting Image Entertainment to let them know how offended you are by this flim-flam tactic. Enough Said.
|
