Too Late for Tears (1949)

Director:

Byron Haskin

Writers:

Roy Huggins (screenplay)
Roy Huggins (serial)

Release Date:

13 August 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

Tagline:

That's just to remind you... you're in a tough racket now!

Plot:

Through a fluke circumstance a ruthless woman stumbles across a suitcase filled with $60,000, and she is determined to hold onto it even it if means murder.

Plot Keywords:

Fall From Balcony | Fate | Boat | War Buddy | Suspicion

Cast

Lizabeth Scott	...	Jane Palmer
Don DeFore	...	Don Blake
Dan Duryea	...	Danny Fuller
Arthur Kennedy	...	Alan Palmer
Kristine Miller	...	Kathy Palmer
Barry Kelley	...	Lt. Breach

Also Known As:

Killer Bait (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1952) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #13539) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hunt Stromberg Productions

Trivia:

Roy Huggins wrote the screenplay, which is based on his "Saturday Evening Post" serial.

Quotes:

Danny Fuller: I came to tell you somethin', Tiger. If you get that dough and dust with it, it'll be very, very bad!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Spartan (2004)

Solid, Tension-Filled Crime Drama

This is a solid and sometimes memorable crime drama, filled with tension, and featuring some pretty good performances from the cast. The noir atmosphere works well, and the story, while perhaps far-fetched at a couple of points, is quite involved and grabs your attention from the beginning.

Lizabeth Scott gets one of her best roles, as a hard-hearted woman who seizes her opportunity to play the male characters against each other so that she can get what she wants. Scott is slightly lacking in the glamour that would make her a really memorable femme fatale, but she has plenty of strength, and her voice works well for the character. Dan Duryea gives one of his many fine noir performances, taking good advantage of his many opportunities with his shady character. Arthur Kennedy and Kristine Miller are both sympathetic as the more innocent of the main characters. Don DeFore's character sometimes seems a little out of place, but he is often crucial in advancing the plot.

The story starts with an unlikely coincidence, with a bag of money that gets tossed into the wrong car. But from there, most of the story developments follow naturally, and the tension is built up rather well as things get more complicated. It's an entertaining movie that has most of the things that fans of film-noir and crime drama would want to see.