Product: Too Late for Tears (1949)
Rating: 4.0
The Gun Just Fell Out---It Was an Accident!..............
I've read several reviews on Amazon about the Too Late For Tears print quality from Image, Alpha, and also the low priced 6-disc Noir set from Questar, 5-Noir Killer Classics, where this film is titled Killer Bait. These reviews were very helpful to me. I had already bought the very poor quality, and cheap, Alpha release. Then I bought the 6-disc set from Questar, mainly to upgrade my Tears print. This print is better than the others and I'd go so far as to say it is pretty good. Keeping things in perspective, these are OLD movies!!!! Lizabeth Scott, always the interesting one, about takes the show in Tears, almost. In strictest regard to acting talents, Liz strikes me as a bit stiff at times, mostly in those scenes when the dialog is calm and uncharged. In her more emotional exchanges, she's definitely in her game then--Noir at its best. But with her of course, it's the looks she gives--the sultry ones she dishes out at just the right moment. They're not always there, not even usually there, but there are times when you look at her....face, eyes, those brows, mouth, very natural and very fleeting, and all combining to form..........THE LOOK. Most any male would be a goner then, and I guess a female or two as well. I can honestly say now that "I get it", the femme fatale thing. Best to just stay away....it'll clip you at the knees. Dan Duryea gives his usually top end performance. Was he really drunk in the drunk scene? Check out the chain latch goof-up as he attempts to exit through a door. Nice little subtle directing touch, or was that a REAL flub? If you like Scott and Duryea, Tears needs to be in your collection. This movie has all the right parts that make up classic Noir. And do buy the Questar set, even if you have all the other ones in the set already (like I did). The price is good, and it's worth it if for only the Tears print--not great, but definitely boxcars better than the other Tears DVD releases out there.