Search - Too Late for Tears on DVD

"I say let's kill 'em with style!"

Dave | Tennessee United States | 03/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This film noir classic from 1949 has a very well-crafted plot. Lizabeth Scott & Arthur Kennedy play a married couple who have a bag filled with $60,000 thrown into their car by mistake! Lizabeth Scott wants to keep the money, but her husband wants to do the right thing & turn the money over to the cops. When the owner of the money (Dan Duryea) comes to collect she decides to get rid of her self-righteous hubby & split the money with Duryea! From then on, the tension builds as people become suspicious of Lizabeth Scott, who turns out to be much deadlier than Duryea figured. This little-known gem is highly recommended for film noir buffs. However, I want to warn you that although the movie is great, the transfer is not. There's some "jumpy" scenes, plenty of scratches visible, & the image quality is never totally clear. The sound quality isn't so hot either, & at times you can't even hear all they're saying! Considering the low cost of the dvd, these flaws are forgivable, but I'd love to see this great classic restored to its original glory."

Fantastic Film Noir - Horrible Release

Moviefanatic | Chicago, Il | 06/16/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I am not going to write about the movie itself. It's a film noir classic. What I would like to comment on is this absolutely shameful DVD release by Image. They have used one of the worst public domain copies, without a hint of restoration and charge over $20 for this. It's a robbery! The only redeaming quality of this release are great but short documentaries by Eddie Muleer. The best print of Too Late for Tears (aka. Killer Bait) that I have seen so far is included in the terrific 5 Film Noir Killer Classics 6-DVD set (where one entire DVD is entirely devoted to great special features) and it costs less than this turkey."

I think i'll pass........

Michael C. Glancy | Clinton,OK United States | 06/28/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"For the price, Image should have put out a better quality print than what was used in this disc. You can see this same print on a dvd called "Film Noir Triple Feature Vol. 1". This film has an alternate title of "KILLER BAIT" which is available as a better quality print in a 6 disc set called "5 Film Noir Killer Classics". I'm so glad that i was able to rent this disc through the mail FIRST. The movie is good as far as content goes. I think i'll pass on this transfer of it, though."

Great movie, crappy DVD.......

Vox Ferrorum | Gardez, Afghanistan (live in KCMO, originally from | 07/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I can't really add much to what's already been written about this under-rated, almost forgotten, classic film noir. Lizabeth Scott is the ultimate femme fatale, leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake, while Dan Duryea shines as the foil. Great, snappy dialogue, especially from Duryea. There's a nice twist at the ending, which I obviously won't reveal here.
The DVD that I have, though, is easily one of the worst transfers ever - not what one would expect from a DVD in this day-and-age - it's skips, jumps and pops at various times and is overly-dark in some spots, although the dialogue that is missed is not really crucial to the story, but it is highly annoying. All in all, this has to be one of my personal favorite film noirs - along with Detour, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce, D.O.A., Sorry, Wrong Number, The Killing, Raw Deal, Scarlet Street, The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers, Out Of The Past, The Asphalt Jungle, The Maltese Falcon, and Kansas City Confidential... (there are so many great ones in this genre!)"