Il faut payer

Joan Crawford plays a woman wrongfully convicted of theft and sentenced to prison. She vows revenge on her former boss who accused her and the prosecutor who was so harsh. Total misfire that could have been a great film. The first few scenes, where Crawford is sentenced and enters prison, are powerful. But instead of spending any time with the prison, the movie skips ahead to after she's released. Worse yet, she seems exactly the same as when she went in. Devoting more time to Joan in prison and showing her become hardened would have worked better. As it is, she gets out of prison, hangs out with some disreputable characters for a short while and suddenly she's Ma Barker. It made no sense and the only thing I can figure is that the studio was afraid of having her character be too hardened. After all, they tacked on a terrible love story to "redeem" her character. Absolutely terrible ending. Too bad, this could have been a classic.

This was a find. Good acting, a good plot and dialog way ahead of its time. I know of no other 1930 movie with its sophistication of dialog. Great directing by Sam Wood making sure that all of the intricacies of plot were brought out.

Joan Crawford was a wrongfully convicted convict out to exact revenge upon the store owner/magnate who sent her up the river who teams with Robert Armstrong to become rich shadily but by means "Within the Law".

The final confrontation in the DA's office requires that you pay attention. This movie is ripe for a remake. I see George Clooney as Robert Armstrong's character and Leonardo De Caprio as the son. Robert Armstrong was very strong in this role.

It's TCM keeper.

This is one of Joan Crawford's best pre-code films. It is very hard to find, but worth the effort! Through her character's evolution, Joan is able to show off a wide variety of emotions, proving she did have good acting skill early in her career.

Typical of the early Talkies, most of the acting style is a bit theatrical, so viewers not used to watching early classics may feel it has a dated quality. But if that doesn't bother you, you will find that the story is riveting, the characters are colorful, and the performance by Crawford is fabulous.

Crawford's character, Mary Turner, is by far the most fascinating, and commands attention. We see her begin as a confused, frumpy simple girl unjustly imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit. Then we watch her grow into a hard-boiled, intelligent, sophisticated criminal, hellbent on revenge. She grew to become what she had been wrongly accused of. You can't help but pity her lost innocence and respect her determination, despite its criminal intent.

A must-see for anyone who loves pre-code film, gangster films, or Joan Crawford.

Paid (1930)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Joan Crawford plays a young woman named Mary Turner who gets three years in prison when her boss accuses her of stealing from the workplace. She's innocent and swears her vengeance and once she's released she gets it by marrying the man's son but things take a turn for the worse when an old friend (Robert Armstrong) decides to break into his house. PAID is a mildly entertaining film thanks in large part to the performances but there's no question that it runs out of gas around the forty-five minute mark and the final half hour just turns downright silly to the point where you'll be laughing at some of the situations. The screenplay is certainly the bad thing here and especially in the finale as all sorts of crazy things begin to happen starting with this robbery of the Mona Lisa. This doesn't turn out to be the real Mona Lisa, which in itself is pretty funny but also goes to show how dumb these criminals are. The entire film is based around the vengeance of Crawford and it's just not written very well. It just seems like there were so many better ways for her to get revenge and you know once she marries the guy that she's eventually going to start to have feelings for him, which is just another boring subplot. The reason to watch this would be for the performances and especially that of Crawford. She's certainly terrific in the part and especially during the opening courtroom sequence. Just look at the pain and anguish in her eyes as she's begging for her freedom. Crawford perfectly nails this but she also handles the other emotions quite well. Armstrong is also enjoyable as a lovable bad guy and Hale Hamilton is also good as the D.A.. The film probably would have been even better had they cut out about ten-minutes because it eventually just keeps running on and on even though you know how everything is going to work out.

"Paid" is a well done early talkie starring Joan Crawford, Douglass Montgomery, Marie Provost, and Robert Armstrong. It was remade as a programmer in 1939, "Within the Law." Crawford is Mary Turner, sent to the Big Doll House by her store owner boss for a crime she didn't commit. She threatens to get even with him. During her time in stir, she studies the law and realizes that you can use the law to make money. Once out, she joins a gang that prison buddy Aggie (Marie Provost) belongs to, and the group starts legally separating people from their money. Mary, still set on revenge, seduces the son of her boss (Montgomery).

This is a good movie, but the beginning is better than the end, which descends into the world of melodrama. It is superior to the remake.

Crawford, with her hypnotic eyes, does a great job - she replaced Norma Shearer, who was on maternity leave -- and she has excellent support from the tragic Provost, Montgomery, and Armstrong. Apparently a fight in the women's shower was cut, despite the precode status.

Gotta love the young, vibrant Crawford.