Unfortunately they were far too late and the DC-7C had taken the market.
The Starliner would have been much earlier and faster had it not been for bickering between Lockheed and P&W about the T34 turboprop on the 1449 and 1549 variants. Even with extra tanks their range fell short of the 1249 and P&W wasn't very helpful, insisting that it wasn't an ideal usage for the engine. I don't think P&W saw much of a development future for the T34 and didn't want to be burdened with them in civilian service.
Eventually Lockheed took the 1449 paper design and put the Wright turbocompounds on the new wing, but as you say by then it was too late