La tigresse

My 6th Noir in a self-managed study of Noir.

The web of deceit weaved by this crazy blond is a marvel to behold. Her brazen disregard for common sense, and the way she controls people around her, make her quite hate-worthy, which would make the actress Lizabeth Scott pleased to know.

Kristine Miller stole my heart with her grace and femininity as the innocent in-law, trying to make sense of the mad house of characters dropping in and out of her brother's apartment.

The toxic, manipulative love/hate relationship portrayed by Dan Duryea and Lizabeth Scott radiated sparks of electricity. See if *you* can figure out where that thing is headed. Only one of them can get the upper hand in this caper.

As I watched the version on Archive.org, I found myself wondering, "How are they going to wrap this up with only a few minutes to go?" knowing the clock is running out only heightens the tension of this nifty Noir.

Why aren't more people suspicious around such toxic characters? Maybe we all dread looking behind that curtain. Classic tragedy speaks to this.

This is some excellent story-telling, and is highly recommended.

Jane and Alan Palmer accidently receive a satchel containing sixty thousand dollars that was intended as a blackmail payoff. Alan wants to turn the money over to the police, but money loving Jane wants to keep it. Meanwhile the blackmailer confronts Jane about his absconded payment. Greedy Jane murders her husband and then pretends to make a deal with the blackmailer. However, a ghost from Janes past returns to be her undoing.

Considering that Byron (WAR OF THE WORLDS) Haskin was never a really good director of actors, this film is very well acted. The cast turns in first rate performances, so good in fact that the performers almost make the viewer not notice that this film has a very far fetched, convoluted plot.

I have seen a lot of these "film noirs" and of all of them, TOO LATE FOR TEARS is probably one of the most cynical. Few other films I have seen have this thick air fatalism hanging over it.

Kristine Miller who plays Alan's sister Kathy, is one of the most beautiful women to grace the screen. This the first time I noticed her, and it's a shame her film career was rather short, and rarely had large roles as she had here.

One note: If you pay close attention, you will see former "Dead End" Kid leader Billy Halop in small role as a boat attendant.

Byron Haskin of Arsenic and Old Lace and War of the Worlds fame teamed up with Roy Huggins to create this solid film noir entry. Huggins writing is superb for the genre - neither pretentious nor overly manic. The pace is brisk but not painfully so. And the film is very well conceived, well directed, well edited and very well acted.

The remarkable Lizabeth Scott (Jane Palmer), married to a young Arthur Kennedy (Alan Palmer), is the focus of our attention. The coupled are driving to a friend's house when a car flashes them and its occupant tosses a leather bag with 60,000 dollars into their car and drives off. Jane wants to keep it, Alan wants to turn it in. Soon, this windfall becomes a mixed blessing, as it reveals a rather frightening side of Jane's personality. The plot intertwines noir twists and turns and incessant mystery and, frequently, winds up in unanticipated places.

Lizabeth Scott is PERFECT, and really MAKES this film as much as the intriguing story and successful directing. Don Defore also turns in a notable performance as does Kristine Miller. Dan Duryea was nicely cast in his role as the heavy, but his performance here was just a sliver below his usual par.

This is very nice bit of noir cinema and will satisfy most noir fans, as well as modern crime drama aficionados. Recommended!

Made in 1949 this is one of those films that is a must for all noir fans. Do be warned though as this fell out of copyright some years ago and was widely duplicated – often very badly – but this is the restored version and is an absolute gem.

Late one night a couple are driving to a party that is far from inviting when a slow car tosses a bag into their open top car. The bag is choc full f cash. The wife is Jane Palmer (Lizabeth Scott) and she decides that she is going to hang onto the cash – despite what her husband wants. So she decides to convince him to keep it. He is cut from a different cloth and it soon becomes apparent how far she will go to keep it.

Now Lizabeth Scott is a show stealer here and that is even though everyone else is great too. She is so convincing as the manipulative and self centred vixen and I just loved it. As I said earlier watch out for poor copies or better still get the restored version. For those of you that love fashion, there are some timeless and elegant gowns on display here too and the men all wear zoot suits so you can't win 'em all. This is a must for all fans of the genre and one that has aged with style.

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.