TOO LATE FOR TEARS
Director: Byron Haskin
Distributor: Flicker Alley
Genre: Drama | Film Noir • Year: 1949 • Country: US • Running Time: 101 minutes [1:41:10] • Certificate: U • Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 • Image: B&W • Language: English • Region: A | B | C • Video: 1080p High Definition [Resolution] | MPEG-4 AVC [Codec] • Audio: English LPCM 1.0 Mono [Feature Track] | English Dolby Digital 2.0 [Commentary Track] • Subtitles: Optional English SDH
Having been rescued and preserved in true film-noir style following an arduous five-year crusade by the Film Noir Foundation and UCLA Film & Television Archive, one of the very best B-Movie motion pictures of the 1940s – and one of the great ‘missing’ films of the film noir ‘Golden Age’ – finally arrives in a meticulously restored digital edition (alongside the equally great Woman on the Run) as part of an exciting new collaboration between Flicker Alley and the Film Noir Foundation.
Developed by novelist and influential television writer Roy Huggins (the creator of such hit shows as Maverick, The Fugitive, and The Rockford Files) from his own 1947 Saturday Evening Post serial, and helmed by director and special effects wiz Byron Haskin, Too Late For Tears is one of the darkest and snappiest noir thrillers of its era, not to mention a superbly executed homage to the likes of noir fiction masters: Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler.
Firmly stressing the old adage that money is the root of all evil, the film centres around the husband and wife team of Jane and Alan Palmer (Lizabeth Scott and Arthur Kennedy), who mysteriously have $60,000 dropped into their moving car whilst driving to a party in the Hollywood Hills. Alan is concerned by the suspicious circumstances and vows to turn the money over to the police, however his materialistic wife has other ideas and persuades him to hold on to it for a while, convincing Alan to store the bag in a safety deposit box at Union Station. Enter Danny Fuller (Dan Duryea), a menacing figure who claims the money belongs to him and sets out on a quest to get what is rightfully his.
The sultry, smoky-voiced Lizabeth Scott made only 22 films in her 32-year movie career and starred alongside such Hollywood giants as Humphrey Bogart, Burt Lancaster, Charlton Heston and Robert Mitchum, but this is without doubt her finest hour, and very rarely was she given the opportunity to play a character as juicy and multi-layered as the avaricious femme fatale, Jane Palmer. Regular Hollywood bad guy and character actor Dan Duryea once again delivers a great perfomance as the ominous Danny Fuller, here elevated from supporting artist to leading man status, and in a strong, sturdy ensemble cast, there is nice work too from Arthur Kennedy, Kristine Miller, Don DeFore and Barry Kelley.
Impeccably constructed, beautifully lit and featuring all the essential noir elements you could possibly hope for, Too Late For Tears has it all; an honest, no-nonsense B-movie noir at its most rewarding, exciting and engaging.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary Track – By writer, historian, and film programmer Alan K. Rode.
“Chance Of A Lifetime: The Making of Too Late For Tears” – Produced by Steven Smith and the Film Noir Foundation and featuring Eddie Muller, Kim Morgan, and Julie Kirgo, this mini-doc offers a behind-the-scenes examination of the film’s original production. (16:26)
“Tiger Hunt: Restoring Too Late For Tears” – Produced by Steven Smith and the Film Noir Foundation, this is a chronicle of the multi-year mission to rescue this “lost” noir classic. (4:31)
24-Page Souvenir Booklet – Featuring rare photographs, poster art, original lobby cards, and an essay by writer and noir-expert Brian Light.
Available Now (click image to buy):
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