Payroll

One one level, PAYROLL (1961) is another in the long line of heist films so perfectly initiated by John Huston's THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950). At that level, the film holds its own: a British version of the familiar plot concerning a planned robbery, interpersonal conflicts, betrayals, and tragedy. But PAYROLL deserves special mention among the likes of ARMORED CAR ROBBERY (1950), RIFIFI (1955), THE KILLING (1956), ROBBERY (1967) and numerous others. This film has a fast pace and a dynamic directing style all its own. A fantastically exciting film with top-drawer performances by a cast that includes a few names that would achieve greater fame later on. A top-drawer Noir-tinged thriller with a strong sense of fatality, aided by Reg Owen's jazz-inflected music and by stark black & white photography, displaying Newcastle locations to great effect.

When thieves fall out... somewhat formulaic story admittedly but very well done. Beautifully evocative b&w shots of early 60's Britain - sometimes think things really were b&w in those days. I think Craig is an excellent choice as the brooding Mellors and that Prevost was a much undervalued actress - very cool as the femme fatale.

Some of the "hi tech" stuff which looks so funny now was probably really cutting edge then. Check out the photocopier and the tape player.

This film really does go through some of the clichés but is none the worse off for doing so. It also showcases the overlooked talents of the leads as well as introducing us to Tom Bell, who went on to have a fine career and is best known for being the wry cynical sidekick to Helen Mirren in the excellent Prime Suspect.

Great music too!

Payroll is a product very much of its time, borrowing elements from the urban realism of fifties and sixties British cinema upon which to hang its fast-paced, wages-of-sin morality tale. The film is set in Newcastle (though you'd never guess it from the accents) and features strong performances from Michael Craig and Billie Whitelaw, with Françoise Prévost sizzling as the femme fatale par excellence.

The film starts out as a by-the-numbers heist thriller, before taking a sharp turn into territory that almost anticipates the revenge movie vogue of the seventies and eighties. The parallel story lines are handled adroitly, as is the animal attraction between Katie (Prévost) and Mellors (Craig), although William Lucas's turn as Katie's useless husband lacks subtlety.

Payroll is still an engrossing, entertaining and even mildly shocking watch. One weakness which will jar with the modern viewer is the incongruous hot jazz score; silence would have been preferable and more suited to the film's aesthetic.

Well worth a watch, even half a century on.

'Payroll' is astonishingly good and deserves a DVD release asap! Even though this movie is over forty years old there are still some super tension mounting scenes which had me on the edge of my seat! The ever reliable Michael Craig was particularly convincing, and well supported by the equally impressive Billie Whitelaw. William Lucas over-acted like mad in the scene where he breaks down, but other than that he was in fine form. The b/w film complimented the tale and made the seedier elements even more gripping and believable. I've seen this movie on auction sites a few times and it always attracts a number of bidders. In my opinion its a British gem!

I agree that this story is not so unusual. Robbery, revenge...But the acting, directing and everything in this crime drama are outstanding. You are glued to this film, and the armored truck robbery is one of the most impressive, brutal, among all those I have ever seen; let me tell you that I am a heist movie specialist, and not only the greatest ones, even the most underrated from all over the world are in my huge collection. This attack sequence is very brutal, especially for this period. This crime flick is typical from those late fifties and early sixties movies from UK. See for instance the grade B features made by Danzingers or Butchers Productions; with nearly always those likes of William Lukas in most of them, the equivalent, for those years, of today Ray Winstone or Bill Murray - not the American one. The Butchers or Danzingers Brothers studios gave us such items, but with a length time much shorter. One of the best gangsters movies from UK ever made, for this time, and even of all time. But unfortunately not the best known, and that makes no difference for me.