Too Late for Tears (1949) [w/Commentary] [Flicker Alley]

Director: Byron Haskin
Starring: Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea, Arthur Kennedy, Kristine Miller, Barry Kelley

Rescued and preserved after a five-year crusade by the Film Noir Foundation, this 1949 classic is at long last available in a clean digital version, transferred from a 35mm print painstakingly restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive.

When a pair of film noir icons like Lizabeth Scott and Dan Duryea collide, sparks are sure to fly. Jane Palmer (Scott) and her husband Alan (Arthur Kennedy) mysteriously have 60k literally dropped in their laps. The circumstances seem mighty suspicious to Alan, who wants to turn the money over to the police. But in a materialistic rapture, Jane won’t let it go. She doesn’t care where it came from, or what danger might ensue—not if it will bring her the luxury she craves. Enter shady Danny Fuller (Duryea, as cocky and menacing as ever), who claims the money belongs to him. Let the games begin!

Roy Huggins’ snappy script (adapted from his novel) is a complex, breezy and black-hearted homage to James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler. Rapacious housewife Jane Palmer is one of the juiciest female villains in Hollywood history, and Liz Scott’s best role ever.

Flicker Alley is excited to present this world-premiere Blu-ray/DVD dual-format edition of Too Late For Tears, restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive, and passionately championed by the Film Noir Foundation, with special thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Together with Woman on the Run, this film marks the first collaboration between Flicker Alley and the Film Noir Foundation.



Audio commentary by writer, historian, and film programmer Alan K. Rode

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