Rating: 
Summary: Terrible quality from Image Entertainment
Review: Buyer beware. Image Entertainment/Dark City has used the exact same print of this film as was used for the budget-line DVD from Alpha Video/Gotham Distribution. The picture quality is so bad, it's virtually unwatchable. Right from the start, the picture is jittery, as if it's running in a broken projector. Everything is out of focus -- this must be a fifth or sixth generation print, not even close to broadcast quality. The picture is littered with grain, specks, scratches, you name it. Several nighttime scenes are absolutely pitch-black -- you can't see anything at all on the screen. And there are so many missing frames that the movie keeps lurching forward like a bad japanese animation film.This is the first release in Image Entertainment's "Dark City" series. I hope it's also the last. Image Entertainment has done a huge disservice to film noir fans. Instead of hunting down a better source print (or at least a second print to provide the missing frames) and doing even a halfway decent restoration job, Image presents a DVD that is no better than the budget-priced Alpha release, even though the Image release costs much more. Fans of old movies who are accustomed to the superior restoration work that's been done on DVD's from companies like Warner and Columbia, will be sorely disappointed by the inferior quality of this release. "Too Late For Tears," while not a classic, is a better than average example of 40's film noir. It deserves better treatment than this -- and DVD buyers deserve more respect. I for one will never buy another DVD from Image Entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: Even Dan Duryea is scared of Lizabeth Scott!
Review: David Forehand's review is perfectly stated, and I cannot add anything more to it, other than I would give this film only 4 stars due to the terrible quality of the DVD transfer. The copy I watched is produced by Alpha Video Recorders, and is the very worst I have seen. But the film noir is terrific, and I am glad to have been able to see it, even though the transfer is so bad. If this is the only way we can get this 1949 classic, then it is worth the low cost of the film.
Rating:
Summary: Great Film Noir - Terrible DVD Transfer
Review: David Forehand's review is perfectly stated, and I cannot add anything more to it, other than I would give this film only 4 stars due to the terrible quality of the DVD transfer. The copy I watched is produced by Alpha Video Recorders, and is the very worst I have seen. But the film noir is terrific, and I am glad to have been able to see it, even though the transfer is so bad. If this is the only way we can get this 1949 classic, then it is worth the low cost of the film.
Rating: 
Summary: I think i'll pass........
Review: For the price, Image should have put out a better quality print than what was used in this disc. You can see this same print on a dvd called "Film Noir Triple Feature Vol. 1". This film has an alternate title of "KILLER BAIT" which is available as a better quality print in a 6 disc set called "5 Film Noir Killer Classics". I'm so glad that i was able to rent this disc through the mail FIRST. The movie is good as far as content goes. I think i'll pass on this transfer of it, though.
Rating:
Summary: I think i'll pass........
Review: For the price, Image should have put out a better quality print than what was used in this disc. You can see this same print on a dvd called "Film Noir Triple Feature Vol. 1". This film has an alternate title of "KILLER BAIT" which is available as a better quality print in a 6 disc set called "5 Film Noir Killer Classics". I'm so glad that i was able to rent this disc through the mail FIRST. The movie is good as far as content goes. I think i'll pass on this transfer of it, though.
Rating:
Summary: Much deadlier than the male.....
Review: Here's the premise. A couple is parked in their convertable, the top down. Along comes a speeding car and the driver throws a big bag of money into the couple's convertable. Neat, huh? What would YOU do if a bag of money was thrown into your car by accident? Hint: Something's gonna happen. And its gonna be bad. Very bad.
A killer movie. Literally. I had no idea Lizbeth Scott could be so naughty but here she is, along with equally underrated Dan Duryea in a noir classic.
Four stars because, alas, the DVD is just loaded with splices.
Rating:
Summary: Even Dan Duryea is scared of Lizabeth Scott!
Review: Holy guacamole! Lizabeth Scott plays the most fatal of all the femme fatales in noir history. The story details the effects of a mis-delivered bag of money ($60,000) on a married couple (played by Lizabeth Scott and Arthur Kennedy) and the intended recipient, played by Dan Duryea. Lizabeth Scott is unhappy in her current situation with nice guy underachiever Kennedy. When the pennies from Heaven arrive she fully intends to live a little higher up the food chain on the ill-gotten gains, Spousy be damned! Dan shows up and she has to think fast. She does. She eventually out-toughs his bad-boy character, driving him to drink and his eventual demise. And she does it all without mussing her shiny blonde hair! She bad!
Anyway, the movie is great, but either the transfer or the cinematography leave much to be desired. It was difficult to see what was going on in many scenes. But don't let that dissuade you from enjoying this rip snorting good movie. Lizabeth! She so baaad!
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, crappy DVD.......
Review: I can't really add much to what's already been written about this under-rated, almost forgotten, classic film noir. Lizabeth Scott is the ultimate femme fatale, leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake, while Dan Duryea shines as the foil. Great, snappy dialogue, especially from Duryea. There's a nice twist at the ending, which I obviously won't reveal here.
The DVD that I have, though, is easily one of the worst transfers ever - not what one would expect from a DVD in this day-and-age - it's skips, jumps and pops at various times and is overly-dark in some spots, although the dialogue that is missed is not really crucial to the story, but it is highly annoying. All in all, this has to be one of my personal favorite film noirs - along with Detour, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce, D.O.A., Sorry, Wrong Number, The Killing, Raw Deal, Scarlet Street, The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, Out Of The Past, The Asphalt Jungle, The Maltese Falcon, and Kansas City Confidential... (there are so many great ones in this genre!)
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, crappy DVD.......
Review: I can't really add much to what's already been written about this under-rated, almost forgotten, classic film noir. Lizabeth Scott is the ultimate femme fatale, leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake, while Dan Duryea shines as the foil. Great, snappy dialogue, especially from Duryea. There's a nice twist at the ending, which I obviously won't reveal here.
The DVD that I have, though, is easily one of the worst transfers ever - not what one would expect from a DVD in this day-and-age - it's skips, jumps and pops at various times and is overly-dark in some spots, although the dialogue that is missed is not really crucial to the story, but it is highly annoying. All in all, this has to be one of my personal favorite film noirs - along with Detour, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce, D.O.A., Sorry, Wrong Number, The Killing, Raw Deal, Scarlet Street, The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, Out Of The Past, The Asphalt Jungle, The Maltese Falcon, and Kansas City Confidential... (there are so many great ones in this genre!)
Rating:
Summary: The Gun Just Fell Out---It Was an Accident!..............
Review: I've read several reviews on Amazon about the Too Late For Tears print quality from Image, Alpha, and also the low priced 6-disc Noir set from Questar, 5-Noir Killer Classics, where this film is titled Killer Bait. These reviews were very helpful to me. I had already bought the very poor quality, and cheap, Alpha release. Then I bought the 6-disc set from Questar, mainly to upgrade my Tears print. This print is better than the others and I'd go so far as to say it is pretty good. Keeping things in perspective, these are OLD movies!!!! Lizabeth Scott, always the interesting one, about takes the show in Tears, almost. In strictest regard to acting talents, Liz strikes me as a bit stiff at times, mostly in those scenes when the dialog is calm and uncharged. In her more emotional exchanges, she's definitely in her game then--Noir at its best. But with her of course, it's the looks she gives--the sultry ones she dishes out at just the right moment. They're not always there, not even usually there, but there are times when you look at her....face, eyes, those brows, mouth, very natural and very fleeting, and all combining to form..........THE LOOK. Most any male would be a goner then, and I guess a female or two as well. I can honestly say now that "I get it", the femme fatale thing. Best to just stay away....it'll clip you at the knees. Dan Duryea gives his usually top end performance. Was he really drunk in the drunk scene? Check out the chain latch goof-up as he attempts to exit through a door. Nice little subtle directing touch, or was that a REAL flub? If you like Scott and Duryea, Tears needs to be in your collection. This movie has all the right parts that make up classic Noir. And do buy the Questar set, even if you have all the other ones in the set already (like I did). The price is good, and it's worth it if for only the Tears print--not great, but definitely boxcars better than the other Tears DVD releases out there.
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