Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times conceded that Scott "gives the role everything she does have with a growling, unvarying intensity," but felt that overall the film was "a routine specimen of crime melodrama." A review published by the Spokane Chronicle described the film as "dramatic and tragic" and "an action-packed film which has its good moments." Alternately, a reviewer for the Detroit Free Press was unimpressed by Scott's performance, writing: "She produces a characterization which is without explanation or belief... Miss Scott appears terribly tired in the film. Her acting has the same quality. All of which leaves what should have been an exciting movie in a somewhat rundown condition."
Film critic Dennis Schwartz in 2005 wrote a favorable review:
, the film holds a 100% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on five critical reviews.
Restoration
Too Late for Tears fell in the public domain in the decades after its release, owing to the dissolution of its corporate holders, which failed to renew its copyright.
The Film Noir Foundation, dedicated to preserving films noir, had sought to restore the film since its inception in 2006, but were unable to locate quality prints. The restoration entailed the use of both the French 35 mm print (bearing the French-language title, Le Tigresse), as well as an American 35 mm print from 1955, when the film was re-released bearing the alternate title Killer Bait. The film's closing titles also had to be reconstructed using the same method. The following month, British distributor Arrow Films released the restored print in a DVD and Blu-ray set through their Arrow Academy label.
Legacy
Scott's performance in the film is regarded by several critics as among her best work. Her femme fatale character in the film has been noted as one of the most merciless and avaricious in film noir and marked a departure from her previous performances in Pitfall (1948), which featured elements of character vulnerability. Film scholar Fabio Vighi notes in Critical Theory and Film: Rethinking Ideology Through Film Noir, "Like few other femmes, she appears unstoppable, ready to do anything to achieve her object."
Interviewed in 2001, Scott commented on the role: "Obviously, there was a softness and an inordinate amount of feminine qualities in [the character]... When a woman like this is corrupted, she would surrender to that corruption. Money would become her delight and her total obsession, and she would then kill for it."
Too Late for Tears has developed a cult following in the decades since its original release.