The Films of Noir City 2014 - Part III

Or part two of day two, which saw the public debut of the newly restored Too Late for Tears (1949). I'd seen what was available of this film before - a washed out print on DVD that I was well aware was missing about ten minutes from its original running time - so I was really looking forward to this chance to see the full, restored film. Given that Tears stars true film noir royalty, in the larcenous forms of Dan Duryea and Lizabeth Scott, it's a real shame that the film was allowed to degenerate to the point of nearly being lost.

In any case, after hearing some of the back story involving the restoration process - which included a near-miss with a potentially pristine print that had been squirreled away by a projectionist in Baltimore, who then up and died the day before signing a deal to release it to the Film Noir Foundation - the lights went down, and a movie that hadn't been seen in over half a century came to life again.



Tears starts with married couple Scott and Arthur Kennedy out for an evening drive in the hills. By accident, they give a signal with their lights that causes another car to race past and toss a satchel into their car - with said satchel containing $60,000 bucks in cash. Needless to say, this turn of events is most unexpected, though, in the case of Scott, it's not an unwelcome development.

Back in their apartment, they bicker over what to do with the cash, with Kennedy wanting to turn it in to the police pronto. But Scott wears him down, and they agree to put it away for a time, untouched, to give themselves time to decide what to do. (In one of the choice moments of dialogue, Kennedy expresses his wish that the money won't change who they are. Scott replies that it hasn't changed her - meaning she's always been avaricious - but Kennedy, seeing her in the best light, misses the point of what she's just told him.) Not surprisingly, by the next day, Scott, counting on keeping the cash, is spending down the couple's savings on clothes and furs.

That's when Duryea, the rightful recipient of the ill-gotten gains, shows up, initially pretending to be a police detective, but quickly moving on to reveal his true nature as a crook and a thug. Scott sweet talks; Duryea slaps. And thus we are off to the noir races, with a full feature of murder, lies, cross and double-cross ahead.

Duryea, who just wants to get his money back (though he's open to a little interest earned from Scott if it works out), soon realizes that he's totally outclassed by Scott in terms of pure, venal criminality. As he gets drawn deeper and deeper into her deceptions, he starts hitting the bottle, which only puts him at a further disadvantage. By the time (SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!) Scott shoots and kills Kennedy, Duryea is in well over his head - but he won't back out while there's still a chance to get his money back. When Scott enlists him to help dispose of Kennedy's body, and to pose as Kennedy briefly, Duryea dryly responds, "You're quite a gal!" It was one of several lines given to Duryea that caused the audience to erupt with appreciative laughter.

Surprisingly, second-billed, Don DeFore doesn't show up until after the halfway point, explaining that he and Kennedy served in the military together. No one quite believes this story, and his character is sort of folded into the already involved plot. Helping DeFore in his efforts to find out what happened to Kennedy, and what's going on in general, is Kennedy's sister, played by the appealing Kristine Miller.

Eventually, after several false starts and double-crosses from Scott, poor Duryea (SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!) winds up dead, Scott winds up in Mexico, and DeFore's true (and somewhat unbelievable) identity is revealed. Crime does not pay, and THE END.



And so, now having seen Too Late for Tears as it was intended to be seen, I have to say that it is a good, but not great, second-tier noir. Ironically, for a film that was only seen for decades with ten minutes missing, it could probably have used some judicious and intentional trimming to tighten it up. The plot is involved, and features a lot of back and forth between the two leads, and by the time it all wraps up, it seemed to me to have just overstayed its welcome.

But this is a fairly minor quibble, and there is much to recommend this film that far outweighs a little length. I mean, anything with both Duryea and Scott in it is worth watching, given that they're both compelling and unique performers. The script by Roy Huggins gives them both plenty of chances to shine their dark stars, and toss out some classic lines. Aside from the previously mentioned line, Duryea also tells Scott: "Don't ever change, Tiger. I wouldn't like you with a heart." It's the kind of dialogue that fits these two perfectly.

Arthur Kennedy, who pretty much made a career out of playing decent guys, is believable as Scott's decent husband. As mentioned, Miller, an actress from Buenos Aires, is very good as Kennedy's sister. (This is probably the best part she ever had in a film.) And dependable Don DeFore, who was an actor with a limited range, is actually used to very good effect here. DeFore generally played the genial, easy going nice guy - and he does that here, too. But given the plot that's underway by the time he shows up, and given that no one really believes he is who he says he is, his nice guy demeanor kind of comes across as false, creepy, and possibly covering up something sinister. By the time his true identity is (disappointingly) revealed, the movie is mere minutes away from being over, so the implausibility of who he is doesn't have time to damage things too much.

(And I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the unbilled appearance of former Dead End Kid Billy Halop in two scenes. Hey, Billy!)

I hope and trust that now that Too Late for Tears has been restored, that a new DVD will be available, and that the film itself will make the rounds of film festivals, revival houses, etc. If you're a fan of any of the actors here, and/or of film noir in general, you'll want to seek it out. As a film it may not be perfect, but at least now it has been made whole. Kudos to the Film Noir Foundation for that, and for their other restoration efforts. Seeing this on the big screen made for a great night out.