Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

JKlein9823 This is an entertaining classic film noir. This film is public domain, and I am reading other users complain about the poor quality of a DVD copy. Basically, anyone who has a terrible copy of the film can legally sell a DVD of it. This film has been restored by UCLA Film & TV Archives, and that is the version to watch. Crisp, clear picture; commendable job of restoration!

Richard Chatten Don't expect the tear-jerker the title might lead you to anticipate. To paraphrase Godard, all you need for a film noir is Lizabeth Scott with a gun in her handbag, and that's what you get here.Visually the film isn't actually terribly noirish, since much of the action takes place in the modest but well-lit little apartment occupied by honest working stiff Arthur Kennedy and his wannabe Queen Bee wife Lizabeth Scott. However, since Ms. Scott's extraordinary face framed by a sleek blonde bob is a prominent visual motif throughout the film, there are enough images of her framed by cameraman William Mellor in a succession of chic high-collared suits to inspire plenty of paintings by Richard Hamilton.In a narrative that anticipates Sam Raimi's 'A Simple Plan', Kennedy and Scott have predictably differing ideas about what to do with a suitcase containing $60,000 in untraceable notes that unexpectedly lands on their car seat. Not long afterwards Dan Duryea at his scariest wearing an obnoxious little bow-tie comes calling wanting his money back, before learning too late - like Tony Perkins in 'Pretty Poison' - that he's in way out of his depth with a true criminal sociopath like Ms. Scott.There's a lot of talk; but as scripted by Roy Huggins (who later created 'The Fugitive' and 'The Rockford Files') it's good talk, and the interaction and development of the characters builds to a most satisfyingly conclusion to which little clues have been discreetly sown along the way. The characters of the man introducing himself as Kennedy's former war buddy, and Kennedy's sister herself who lives across the landing - played by Don Defore and Kristine Miller - don't at first seem terribly interesting but grow to confound expectations.All the acting is good, with the possible exception of Ms. Scott herself, who's a bit one-note, but isn't really required to do much except look like Lizabeth Scott, which she does to perfection. Aged only 26, she already looks as if she's had her face lifted about half a dozen times; but on her it looks good!

seymourblack-1 It's not unusual for a story to begin with a situation in which a character suddenly finds themselves in possession of a sum of money that isn't theirs but what makes this movie so enthralling is the nature of the character in question. As a child, this woman's experience of being brought up in a middle class family that couldn't "keep up with the Joneses" scarred her mentally and emotionally with the result that when her opportunity to become wealthy came along, she wasn't going to stop at anything to achieve her most cherished ambition. Murder, manipulation and deception are just part of her stock-in-trade as she wilfully damages and destroys the lives of the people around her in a way that's incredibly ruthless, cold-hearted and self-serving.One dark evening, Alan Palmer (Arthur Kennedy) and his wife Jane (Lizabeth Scott) are driving along a quiet mountain road outside Los Angeles when a bag full of cash is suddenly thrown into the back seat of their car from a vehicle that's travelling in the opposite direction. After being chased by another car for a little while, they successfully escape and head home where they discover that the bag contains $60,000. Alan is nervous about having the cash in his possession and wants to hand it in to the police as soon as possible but Jane is determined to keep the money and so persuades her husband to take a little time before making a final decision on what to do with their windfall. A little later, Alan leaves the bag in a locker at Union Station and puts the ticket in his jacket pocket.Next morning, Danny Fuller (Dan Duryea) who says he's a private detective, calls at the Palmers' apartment and tells Jane that he's come to collect the cash. She tells him that the money's already been handed in to the police and so he leaves but promises to return if her story doesn't check out. When he inevitably returns, they initially argue but then come to an agreement to share the cash. As Jane knows that Alan would never go along with this arrangement, she kills her husband at a nearby boating lake and persuades Danny to help her dispose of the body. Jane reports Alan's disappearance to the police and tells her sister-in-law Kathy (Kristine Miller) that she thinks he's taken off to Mexico with a girlfriend. Kathy, who lives in the same apartment building, doesn't believe this story and becomes very suspicious of Jane.A man called Don Blake (Don DeFore) who introduces himself as an old wartime buddy of Alan's, soon becomes friendly with Kathy who now has Alan's locker ticket in her possession and together they attempt to find out what's really happened to her brother.The plot of "Too Late For Tears" (aka "Killer Bait") is complicated by a succession of identity issues which begin with the way in which the money comes into the possession of the Palmers and then becomes even more involved as neither Danny Fuller nor Don Blake are who they originally claim to be (with Danny also posing as Alan at one stage). The main focus of the movie, however, is on its extraordinary femme fatale whose greed for wealth knows no limits. Her ability to manipulate men by either acting seductively or threatening them in some way is remarkably successful with one notable exception and the way in which she overwhelms Danny, sees him transform from being a menacing character to one who becomes fearful and very malleable.Lizabeth Scott takes full advantage of the opportunities that her role offers as she skilfully switches her behaviours and expressions whenever the need arises and in the process, makes Jane's wickedness and motivations absolutely clear. Good performances from the rest of the cast (especially Dan Duryea) add greatly to the enjoyment but ultimately, this is Lizabeth Scott's movie all the way.

kapelusznik18 ****SPOILERS**** The husky voiced and icy blond Liazebth Scott is at her deadly best here as the smoldering Jean Palmer who's responsible for the death of three men including her clueless husband Alan, Arthur Kennedy, whom she deep sixth, after shooting him, when he found out what she was really up to. That in splitting her ill gotten gains, $60,000.00, that literally dropped into her lap with her hoodlum boyfriend Danny Fuller, Dan Duryea, whom she later ended up poisoning.It was Jane in her obsession of getting her hands on the $60,000.00 that was meant for Fuller, in a blackmail payoff, that in the end destroyed herself as well. The key to all this carnage was the mysterious Don Blake, Don Defore, who pooped up out of nowhere after Jane dispatched, at the bottom of a lake, her husband Alan. Claiming to be in the same US Army Air Force unit in England with Alan during the war Blake won over her confidence in not quite realizing what his true motives were.***SPOILERS*** The kicker that deflated Janes plans happened when she thought she was home free with the 60 G's down Mexico way. It's then, after she had already murdered two person, that Blake sprung a trap on her in exposing another murder, or suicide, that she was responsible for five years earlier. With the police about to come and arrest her Jean in an attempt to bribe or pay off Blake to keep the lid on, in her criminal past, that in all the excitement Jane lost her footing and fell to her death off her hotel room balcony. A fitting end to this scheming and murderous woman who in the end found out all too well how it feels in getting screwed, or set up, by someone she trusted if not loved.