#17 Too Late For Tears
"It wasn't because we were poor, not hungry poor at least. I suppose it was worse, far worse, we were white collar poor, middle class poor. The people who can't quite keep up with the Jones' and die a little everyday because they can't."
Too Late For Tears is one of the best of the film noir genre. It stars film noir standouts Liz Scott, and Dan Duryea , with a nice supporting role by the dependable Arthur Kennedy. But the movie belongs to Liz Scott. She is in almost every scene and delivers a captivating performance from start to end. It appears to me passive aggressiveness is a trait and necessity for a femme fatale. It may be societal or biological who knows, and I don’t care, but it is there and Liz Scott’s Jane Palmer takes it to another level. Palmer is a greedy, opportunistic, duplicitous woman whose only goal is to get rich without really trying. But inside the femme fatale is a child of a burgeoning American middle class who still fantasizes of living like a Princess with her Prince Charming.
We were told at a young age money doesn’t grow on trees, but we were never told that a bag with $60,000 (equivalent to $614,000 in 2018) can’t be thrown into your convertible from a car speeding in the other direction. Liz Scott wants to keep this manna from heaven. Arthur Kennedy, who plays her devoted, honest and loving husband, instantly ascertains it’s a playoff for a blackmailer and wants the cash turned over to the police.
When he is stopped for a minor moving violation he does not give up the money. To his wife’s question as to why he didn’t he says he’s asking himself the same question. The money presents a moral dilemma. He is an honest man who knows he should give it up, but when the chance comes he fails to do so. Ambiguity over a course of action needed to resolve a moral dilemma is a cornerstone of film noir. They take it to their apartment where she says she wants to look at it. For me, at least, there is no mistaking the sexual imagery. Palmer spreads the money on the bed ready to be taken. She is saying you’ve had me on this bed and now you can have this along with me.
There is sixty thousand dollars; enough she says to make it work for both of them for the rest of their lives. This puerile assertion is indicative of Jane Palmer who sees life through the prism of easy solutions, convenient lies, and fabricated stories without a thought to their plausibility or their consequences. His reasons for tuning it in are rational and well thought out. He fears incarceration if caught and keeping the money is a path to a big blind alley with a big barred gate at the end. Her rebuttal is to tell him, for the first time, how unhappy she’s been in their marriage marriage. A marriage she says that’s only given them a dozen down payments and installments for the rest of our lives. Perhaps she expects to be commended for keeping her misery to herself all those years. They agree to put the bag in a locker at Union Station and wait a week. Enter Dan Duryea as Danny Fuller.
We were told at a young age money doesn’t grow on trees, but we were never told that a bag with $60,000 (equivalent to $614,000 in 2018) can’t be thrown into your convertible from a car speeding in the other direction. Liz Scott wants to keep this manna from heaven. Arthur Kennedy, who plays her devoted, honest and loving husband, instantly ascertains it’s a playoff for a blackmailer and wants the cash turned over to the police.
When he is stopped for a minor moving violation he does not give up the money. To his wife’s question as to why he didn’t he says he’s asking himself the same question. The money presents a moral dilemma. He is an honest man who knows he should give it up, but when the chance comes he fails to do so. Ambiguity over a course of action needed to resolve a moral dilemma is a cornerstone of film noir. They take it to their apartment where she says she wants to look at it. For me, at least, there is no mistaking the sexual imagery. Palmer spreads the money on the bed ready to be taken. She is saying you’ve had me on this bed and now you can have this along with me.
There is sixty thousand dollars; enough she says to make it work for both of them for the rest of their lives. This puerile assertion is indicative of Jane Palmer who sees life through the prism of easy solutions, convenient lies, and fabricated stories without a thought to their plausibility or their consequences. His reasons for tuning it in are rational and well thought out. He fears incarceration if caught and keeping the money is a path to a big blind alley with a big barred gate at the end. Her rebuttal is to tell him, for the first time, how unhappy she’s been in their marriage marriage. A marriage she says that’s only given them a dozen down payments and installments for the rest of our lives. Perhaps she expects to be commended for keeping her misery to herself all those years. They agree to put the bag in a locker at Union Station and wait a week. Enter Dan Duryea as Danny Fuller.
Below is the first time Danny was in Jane's apartment and he thought he was in charge.
Dan Duryea will go down forever as one of the most underappreciated, talented actors to ever appear on the silver screen. He makes every film he’s in better, has a commanding screen presence, and can go toe to toe with the biggest screen names in Hollywood. It seems that regardless of his role he’s one line away from stealing a scene or one scene away from stealing a movie.
He is the blackmailer whose payoff was mistakenly thrown into their convertible. He appears at her apartment posing as a detective looking for the stolen money. She denies she has it, but it doesn’t take him long to know she’s lying. (Maybe it was the mink she kept boxed under the sink that was a giveaway)
There is great chemistry between him and Liz Scott. Theirs is a cat and mouse game from the very beginning. He uses brute force and physical intimidation as the means to get his money. She uses her sexuality, and her perceived vulnerability as her means to keep the money. He is in over his head and doesn’t know it. The difference between their first meeting and last is vicious proof as to the superiority of stealth and stiletto over the hatchet and braggadocio.
Kennedy is the polar opposite of Liz Scott. He wants peace and stability in his life which he tells her money can’t buy. He finds the gifts she has bought and tells her the money has changed her and it’s creating a divide between the two. He regrets his choice to wait a week and wants to return it immediately. She becomes brutally honest. Her family was poor, not hungry poor but something far worse; white collar poor. She tells him the money hasn't changed her, it’s the way she is. She married her first husband because she thought he had money. Arthur stops her before she could say she was relieved when he killed himself.
He is the blackmailer whose payoff was mistakenly thrown into their convertible. He appears at her apartment posing as a detective looking for the stolen money. She denies she has it, but it doesn’t take him long to know she’s lying. (Maybe it was the mink she kept boxed under the sink that was a giveaway)
There is great chemistry between him and Liz Scott. Theirs is a cat and mouse game from the very beginning. He uses brute force and physical intimidation as the means to get his money. She uses her sexuality, and her perceived vulnerability as her means to keep the money. He is in over his head and doesn’t know it. The difference between their first meeting and last is vicious proof as to the superiority of stealth and stiletto over the hatchet and braggadocio.
Kennedy is the polar opposite of Liz Scott. He wants peace and stability in his life which he tells her money can’t buy. He finds the gifts she has bought and tells her the money has changed her and it’s creating a divide between the two. He regrets his choice to wait a week and wants to return it immediately. She becomes brutally honest. Her family was poor, not hungry poor but something far worse; white collar poor. She tells him the money hasn't changed her, it’s the way she is. She married her first husband because she thought he had money. Arthur stops her before she could say she was relieved when he killed himself.
This is as honest as she can be. I believe she loves him and wants him as well as the money. But if she has to choose between the two she will choose the money. He agrees to keep to the original agreement and wait until the week is up before turning it in. She agrees and he feels everything is settled. He is happy and suggests they recreate their first date with dinner and a boat ride on a park lake. Scott says nothing but the look on her face says she is not happy.
Duryea is still on her case. She calls him and says she’ll meet him at the lake to give him the key to the locker where she put the money. She does not mention she’ll be there with her husband his Colt M1911 hidden in her purse. It's not made clear if her plan was to kill her husband, and either kill Duryea should he not let her keep the money or frame him for the murder. As they near the shore she changes her mind and wants to return back. He finds the gun in the bag and in a struggle she kills him. She said it was an accident, but if it was why didn't she give him the gun? Why did she struggle to keep it? She wants Duryea’s assistance to sink the body. Duryea doesn’t want the money bad enough to get involved with a killing. He's willing to let her have the $60,000 but she threatens to go to the police and implicate him in the death of her husband.
The blackmailer has become the blackmailed, the table's been reversed and he never saw it coming. One obstacle (her husband) in her goal of living happily ever after is gone, but there is still Dan Duryea. She continues to string him along even though he trusts her as far as he can throw her. Another obstacle comes between Jane Palmer and a life of bliss in the form of Don DeFore. He says his name is Don Blake and was a war buddy of Kennedy and wants to reconnect. She tells him Alan's gone. He left for another woman. He along with the beautiful Kristine Miller as Allan’s sister Kathy Palmer are very suspicious of Jane. The police are unable to help, so they do their own investigating. When they confront her she pulls out the Colt and leaves for Union Station to pick up the money.
When Scott gets to Union Station she suspects the police are looking for her. Not wanting to take a chance she asks, with promises of an assignation, a stranger (Denver Pyle) to pick up her bag. He gets suspicious and leaves in a hurry.
Duryea is still on her case. She calls him and says she’ll meet him at the lake to give him the key to the locker where she put the money. She does not mention she’ll be there with her husband his Colt M1911 hidden in her purse. It's not made clear if her plan was to kill her husband, and either kill Duryea should he not let her keep the money or frame him for the murder. As they near the shore she changes her mind and wants to return back. He finds the gun in the bag and in a struggle she kills him. She said it was an accident, but if it was why didn't she give him the gun? Why did she struggle to keep it? She wants Duryea’s assistance to sink the body. Duryea doesn’t want the money bad enough to get involved with a killing. He's willing to let her have the $60,000 but she threatens to go to the police and implicate him in the death of her husband.
The blackmailer has become the blackmailed, the table's been reversed and he never saw it coming. One obstacle (her husband) in her goal of living happily ever after is gone, but there is still Dan Duryea. She continues to string him along even though he trusts her as far as he can throw her. Another obstacle comes between Jane Palmer and a life of bliss in the form of Don DeFore. He says his name is Don Blake and was a war buddy of Kennedy and wants to reconnect. She tells him Alan's gone. He left for another woman. He along with the beautiful Kristine Miller as Allan’s sister Kathy Palmer are very suspicious of Jane. The police are unable to help, so they do their own investigating. When they confront her she pulls out the Colt and leaves for Union Station to pick up the money.
When Scott gets to Union Station she suspects the police are looking for her. Not wanting to take a chance she asks, with promises of an assignation, a stranger (Denver Pyle) to pick up her bag. He gets suspicious and leaves in a hurry.
There is a dramatic transformation of Danny Fuller from their first meeting to their last. He starts out as a confident, smirking aggressive blackmailer, dealing with, he thought, a helpless woman. He ends up as a besotted, ill-kept drunkard; a braggadocio worn out from holding a tiger by the tail.
Dan Duryea has been so good in so many roles it’s hard to say which is his best but this film ranks right up there. The turning point in his development is when Scott wants him to kill Kathy Palmer. He won’t do it. She convinces him otherwise and he's to use his connections to get rat poison. He returns a day or two later. He is unshaven, drunk and slurs his words, but he'’s not stupid. He tells her to hold the bottle while she mixes a drink. He's found out too late Jane Palmer is pure evil. Fuller tells her the person who sold him the poison says Fuller doesn't look like the type of guy he's used to dealing with:
And I looked him right in the eye and I said ’You mean I don’t look like a killer? And you know what he said? He said, ‘No, you don’t.’
I wonder what he would have said if you bought the stuff Tiger.”
Below is the last time he's at her apartment. They were to meet once more and Fuller let his guard down for the first and last time.
Dan Duryea has been so good in so many roles it’s hard to say which is his best but this film ranks right up there. The turning point in his development is when Scott wants him to kill Kathy Palmer. He won’t do it. She convinces him otherwise and he's to use his connections to get rat poison. He returns a day or two later. He is unshaven, drunk and slurs his words, but he'’s not stupid. He tells her to hold the bottle while she mixes a drink. He's found out too late Jane Palmer is pure evil. Fuller tells her the person who sold him the poison says Fuller doesn't look like the type of guy he's used to dealing with:
And I looked him right in the eye and I said ’You mean I don’t look like a killer? And you know what he said? He said, ‘No, you don’t.’
I wonder what he would have said if you bought the stuff Tiger.”
Below is the last time he's at her apartment. They were to meet once more and Fuller let his guard down for the first and last time.
She takes the money to Danny's. Before they leave for Mexico she needs to know how he got the money to ensure it won't be traced. He says he discovered an insurance agent was selling policies on bridges, ‘whoever heard of anything happening to a bridge?” and instead of sending in the policies the agent was keeping the money. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity too good to be true he tells her. This is similar to what Scott says earlier in the film to her husband: "...chances like this are never offered twice. This is it..."
She convinces Fuller she needs him to drive with her to Mexico because a woman driving alone would draw attention and leave her vulnerable. That's not quite how it turned out. She makes it to Mexico but he doesn't. She is rich. She can live the life that was due her. But the life of luxury is short lived for Don DeFore has tracked her down and he has plans of his own.
Jane and Danny come across their once in a lifetime opportunity and are cursed by it. Arthur Kennedy who equivocates is an innocent victim. All three do a wonderful job, but from start to finish this movie belongs to Liz Scott. She literally commands every scene she’s in and barely raises her raspy, scratchy voice in the process. She gives a great lesson in how to act uses facial expressions, nuanced tones of voice and subtle movements.
Jane Palmer is one of the most vicious femme fatales in film noir. Palmer’s once in a lifetime opportunity has brought to the surface her latent evil. She probably drove her first husband to suicide, wanted to kill his brother, killed her second husband, wanted to poison his sister, and poisoned Duryea in order to keep the money. She is a sociopath and a pathological liar. You can notice her reaction when she poisons Duryea. She quickly downs her drink before he can think of switching them, cooly watches him drink the poison then expresses shock when he dies. Liz Scott’s performance is as good as there is in film noir.
She convinces Fuller she needs him to drive with her to Mexico because a woman driving alone would draw attention and leave her vulnerable. That's not quite how it turned out. She makes it to Mexico but he doesn't. She is rich. She can live the life that was due her. But the life of luxury is short lived for Don DeFore has tracked her down and he has plans of his own.
Jane and Danny come across their once in a lifetime opportunity and are cursed by it. Arthur Kennedy who equivocates is an innocent victim. All three do a wonderful job, but from start to finish this movie belongs to Liz Scott. She literally commands every scene she’s in and barely raises her raspy, scratchy voice in the process. She gives a great lesson in how to act uses facial expressions, nuanced tones of voice and subtle movements.
Jane Palmer is one of the most vicious femme fatales in film noir. Palmer’s once in a lifetime opportunity has brought to the surface her latent evil. She probably drove her first husband to suicide, wanted to kill his brother, killed her second husband, wanted to poison his sister, and poisoned Duryea in order to keep the money. She is a sociopath and a pathological liar. You can notice her reaction when she poisons Duryea. She quickly downs her drink before he can think of switching them, cooly watches him drink the poison then expresses shock when he dies. Liz Scott’s performance is as good as there is in film noir.
Kudos to Roy Huggins who wrote he screenplay based on his serial in the Saturday Evening Post. He has a very impressive resume.
There was great chemistry between Liz Scott and Dan Duryea. In my opinion they would have been great in a remake of The Thin Man series. It would have worked out. Think about it.
A modern day actor that reminds me of Duryea is Christopher Walken.
There are so many good lines in this film, it's not funny. It's as well written as any in noir. Here are but a few.
In her apartment when he pretends to be a detective.
LS: So, you’re not a policeman then?
DD: Only on my mother’s side, honey.
DD: If you were an innocent housewife with nothing to hide but the ice man you’d never let me in here.
She explains the expensive items he found under the sink.
LS: Those things belong to my sister in law and I let you in because—well housewives can get awfully bored sometimes.
Arthur tries to convince Liz to turn in the money.
AK: The money won’t buy you anything it will only make you miserable and unhappy.
LS: Let me be the judge of that.
In response to a comment made by Dan Duryea
LS: What do I call you besides stupid?
DD: Stupid will do, if you don’t bruise easily
She sets up the meeting at the lake.
LS: Danny how do I know you’ll be fair with me?
DD: You don’t. But I’ll tell you something, you’ve got ten times the chance to get a straight deal with me as I have with you.
When she goes to his apartment
LS: I found the ticket, Danny, I found it. It’s all clear sailing now.
DD: Go away, creep back out.
After giving her real motive for wanting to share the money.
DD: Don’t ever change Tiger, I don’t think I’d like you with a heart.
There was great chemistry between Liz Scott and Dan Duryea. In my opinion they would have been great in a remake of The Thin Man series. It would have worked out. Think about it.
A modern day actor that reminds me of Duryea is Christopher Walken.
There are so many good lines in this film, it's not funny. It's as well written as any in noir. Here are but a few.
In her apartment when he pretends to be a detective.
LS: So, you’re not a policeman then?
DD: Only on my mother’s side, honey.
DD: If you were an innocent housewife with nothing to hide but the ice man you’d never let me in here.
She explains the expensive items he found under the sink.
LS: Those things belong to my sister in law and I let you in because—well housewives can get awfully bored sometimes.
Arthur tries to convince Liz to turn in the money.
AK: The money won’t buy you anything it will only make you miserable and unhappy.
LS: Let me be the judge of that.
In response to a comment made by Dan Duryea
LS: What do I call you besides stupid?
DD: Stupid will do, if you don’t bruise easily
She sets up the meeting at the lake.
LS: Danny how do I know you’ll be fair with me?
DD: You don’t. But I’ll tell you something, you’ve got ten times the chance to get a straight deal with me as I have with you.
When she goes to his apartment
LS: I found the ticket, Danny, I found it. It’s all clear sailing now.
DD: Go away, creep back out.
After giving her real motive for wanting to share the money.
DD: Don’t ever change Tiger, I don’t think I’d like you with a heart.