Paid in Full

Caught this film by accident some years ago in a hospital waiting room. It's a soap, for sure, but I was unexpectedly impressed by the acting and the direction, which made the teary script work far better than it had a right to. A thoroughly, impressively professional job all around!

A pregnant woman drives a car up to a hospital, passes out at the wheel, is brought in for immediate surgery, she says she is a Mrs Milligan and has a reference to a doctor Winston, and when the hospital calls this doctor up, he has no knowledge of any Mrs Milligan. As she lies on the operating table between life and death, telling the doctors to rather save the baby's life than her own, her life passes by for her in her memory, which is shared with the audience. That's how it starts.

Her life with her sister appears to have been totally self-sacrificed for her younger sister, as she feels responsible for her, as their mother died at her birth, and she herself is well aware that she cannot have children without risks to her life. All this information of course raises some concern with the audience about her condition of giving birth. The younger sister marries Robert Cummings, a dashing young upstart ready for a career, and they have a daughter, but the marriage is not a success, as she never really loved him, while the one who really loved him was Lizabeth Scott. There's the intrigue.

The story is authentic, it was found in "Reader's Digest" and made a decent film of directed the accomplished William Dieterle, who presents another of his invaluably sensitive creations, with appropriate romantic music by Victor Young sung by Dean Martin - the finest scene of the film before everything falls asunder, - so it is not really a noir which usually was Lizabeth Scott's acting realm, but rather a psychological drama about motherhood. The most interesting scenes are the discussions with the doctor of the sisters, who is perfectly aware of all the details of the case of the sisters and their mother, but who is powerless against the ways of destiny. It leads up to a meltdown, you keep hoping until the end, but at least there will always be a continuity.

I liked this film until about halfway or two-thirds of the way through. It had great concepts, complicated relationships and psychology, and compelling storylines. The actors are wonderful and really pull off their roles well. They're well cast. However the second half or final third is marred by terrible psychology and loose ends. Things start not making sense and never stop. There are some Hail Marys in here that just don't work well. You really have to push the boundaries of realism to enjoy this one, which is a shame since it had such a strong start.

We love Lizabeth Scott when she's bad. She isn't bad in this, the script and the rest of the cast is. Bob Cummings should stick to light comedy and the other leading lady is so bland I can't remember her.

The overwrought accident that causes all the guilt and melodrama is as ludicrous as the sacrifice made at the ending.

Following an opening salvo of schmooze fest bonhomie and lighthearted romance, perpetuated by Eve Arden's irrepressible, razor sharp wit, Paid in Full hints at both film noir and psychological drama, prior to falling flat on its face, wallowing in the worst excesses of mawkish afternoon soap.

The movie confronts some delicate and distressing personal issues, but in such a contrived and gauche fashion that the events, traumatic as they are, feel like they have been grafted on to the narrative for maximum emotional mileage, rather than as natural and integral aspects of the story.

Paid in Full may have scored heavily on the 'not a dry eye in the house' ratings at the time of its release, but disappointingly wastes the talents of its three leads, the aforementioned Eve Arden and the hugely undervalued Kristine Miller. Overlong, overblown and overwrought, this turgid tearjerker now seems stodgy, dated and largely implausible.