Byron Haskin (director)
Arrow Academy (studio)
PG (certificate)
101 min (length)
13 June 2016 (released)
11 June 2016
This Film Noir from 1949 tends to be somewhat underrated which is in any case unfair, as it is terrific and the late Lizabeth Scott is simply superb as the ultimate ‘femme fatale’! Add badass Dan Duryea to the sizzling concoction and you know you’re in for a treat!
When Jane (L. Scott) and hubby Alan Palmer (Arthur Kennedy) are on the way to attend a party in the Hollywood Hills a car passes the freeway and chucks a bag into the backseat of their car. Upon closer inspection the couple realise that the bag is cram full with dollar notes but the pleasant discovery remains short-lived as suddenly, a third car turns up behind them and instinctively Jane and Alan know the bag was meant for that very car… After a wild chase during which Jane takes to the steering wheel (a first indication of her ruthlessness) they manage to shake off their pursuer. Back in their apartment Jane, who craves a luxurious lifestyle, is over the moon and immediately makes plans on how to spend the money but Alan is much more careful and suggests to hand the find over to the cops… a suggestion that doesn’t go down too well with Jane. A compromise is reached and for the time being, Alan keeps the bag stored in a locker in Union Station while the couple continue to ponder over the pros and cons of keeping the money. Alan is also holding on to the ticket, which initially he keeps in his trouser pocket.
A few days later, while Jane is alone in the flat, a stranger knocks on the door and introduces himself as someone who has come to collect the money. He is Danny Fuller (Dan Duryea) and from the outset we know he is one rotten egg… a shady sleazeball not to be messed with, and who never explains just how he knows that the Palmers got their hands on ‘his’ money. But Jane is not easily intimidated and soon the tables turn when she offers him a deal which he finds difficult to refuse. A cat and mouse game ensues during which the upper hand occasionally changes but usually it belongs to the boxing-clever and scheming Jane, whom Danny soon nicknames ‘Tiger’.
Hell-bent on keeping the money, Jane is prepared to go to hell and back and soon we have the first corpse – no, not Danny but Jane’s husband Alan! When Jane tells his sister Kathy (Kristine Miller) porkies and pretends the ‘missing’ Alan has left her for another woman and drove off to Mexico a few things don’t add up, but the suspicious Kathy can’t cough up any proof to the contrary. Suddenly, another mysterious stranger appears on the horizon by the name of Blanchard (Don DeFore), claiming to be an old buddy of Alan’s from their army days. Jane, always one step ahead, manages to expose Blanchard as a liar with the help of an acquaintance. Thing is, Blanchard seems too nice and too decent a chap to be little else than a liar, so who is he really and what’s his agenda?
As the net closes in on Jane and partner-in-crime Danny, we just know there’s only one who’ll get away… but for how long? It may well be too late for tears!
This is cracking stuff beginning to end! The film is spiked with witty one-liners and an on-screen chemistry between Scott and Duryea that’s simply explosive, while the rest of the cast are all in on the fun!
Arrow Academy is excited to present this world-premiere restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive, and passionately championed by the Film Noir Foundation, with special thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. One of the great missing films of the classic noir era has now been restored and contains the following SPECIAL FEATURES:
* Brand new restoration of original 35mm vault elements by UCLA Film & Television Archive
* Presented in High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD
* Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
* Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
* Audio Commentary by writer, historian, and film programmer Alan K. Rode
* Chance Of A Lifetime: The Making of Too Late For Tears – a new behind-the-scenes examination of the film’s original production produced by Steven Smith and the Film Noir Foundation and featuring noir experts Eddie Muller, Kim Morgan, and Julie Kirgo
* Tiger Hunt: Restoring Too Late For Tears – a chronicle of the multi-year mission to rescue this “lost” noir classic produced by Steven Smith and the Film Noir Foundation
* Gallery featuring rare photographs, poster art and original lobby cards
* Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin
* Booklet featuring new writing by writer and noir expert Brian Light