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Came across this one by accident. A hard-to-find forgotten film of the 40's turned out to be right behind "Out Of The Past", in my opinion the best of the Noir genre. A cheapie 'B', It is Miss Scotts' picture and she is ably assisted by an 'A'cast. Dependable Arthur Kennedy plays her befuddled husband and Dan Duryea is the heavy, complete with trademark sardonic grin.

'B's don't usually get a script or a storyline of this calibre. There are several plot twists which make the film completely absorbing and make it a very swift 99 minutes.I found it in a DVD collection but if it ever shows up on TCM, do yourself a favor and try not to miss this one - it is exceptional.

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.

Lizabeth Scott sinks her teeth into the role of a ruthless woman in "Too Late for Tears," also known as "Killer Bait," a 1949 film directed by Byron Haskin and written by a man who later became a very popular TV writer-director and creator of some top series, Roy Huggins.

The film also stars Dan Duryea, Don DeFore, and Arthur Kennedy.

Scott plays Jane Palmer, the wife of Alan Palmer (Kennedy) - while driving one night, someone from another car throws a satchel into their car. It turns out to be $60,000 (the equivalent of $598,000 today). Alan doesn't want anything to do with it, preferring to take it to the police, but Jane wants to keep it and spend it. Finally she convinces him to hide the money and wait for a time.

Jane, it turns out, is one tough cookie, and without giving much away, let's say that getting her hands on that money becomes her full time job, and she's determined that nothing and no one will stand in her way. Unfortunately for a few people, they stood in her way.

Really terrific noir set in Hollywood, with Dan Duryea playing a sleaze, but actually less of a sleaze than Jane - he's more of an opportunist than evil; Don Defore is friendly and unassuming as a friend of Alan Palmer's, and Arthur Kennedy, one of the finest actors in film, is just plain wasted. Perhaps this was a film he had to do in order to fulfill a contract, or it was a loanout on trade - it was a waste.

It's Scott's film, and with her husky voice, lovely smile and pouty lips, she's able to, at first anyway, hide a core of steel underneath.

Very good. If you're a fan of film noir, see this one.

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!

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.