Payroll

An underrated British film about naive working class criminals. I agree with previous comments regarding the miscasting of Michael Craig, but he was a prominent British leading man so it is understandable that he was chosen for box-office appeal. (Today,one would perhaps cast Albert Finney.) I actually worked on the movie as an extra and met most of the actors. I was particularly impressed with Tom Bell having followed his work in TV plays. He was a young actor who represented the up and coming crop of actors such as Finney, Bates, Lynch and Courteny. Although the film is an excellent record of 60's Newcastle, several scenes were shot in Rugby, where I lived. It was interesting to see how the Rugby scenes were edited into the Newcastle settings. I have a copy on tape.

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.

Payroll is directed by Sidney Hayers and adapted to screenplay by George Baxt from the novel written by Derek Bickerton. It stars Michael Craig, Françoise Prévost, Billie Whitelaw, William Lucas, Kenneth Griffith, Tom Bell and Barry Keegan. Music is by Reg Owen and cinematography by Ernest Steward.

A vicious gang of crooks raid an armoured van carrying the wages of the local factory. When all doesn't go to plan and the driver of the van is killed, the gang start to come apart from within, just as the police and a vengeful widow close in on them...

As tough as old boots! Out of Beaconsfield Studios, Payroll is the kind of British neo-noir that is adored by those that have seen it and yet it still remains a sleeper. Set up in the North East of England in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, there's a real sense of working class struggle pulsing through the picture. The character dynamics at work are nothing new in the history of the heist gone wrong movie, but the makers here insert two ladies into the equation and let them be prominent antagonists, and with some conviction as well. Time is afforded build up of characters, letting us into home lives and the planning of the crime, and then bam! It's the robbery and it pulls no punches.

Story is not without violence, and murders are coldly executed, and as the band of thieves begin to crack, led by ice cold scumbag Johnny Mellors (Craig), director Hayers puts them into a world of grim alleyways, terrace houses, back street pubs, sweat stained garages, marshy bogs and an imposing dockside ripe for a denouement. The mood is firmly set at fatalistic realism, and as Hayers tightens the noose around the dwindling gang of thieves, and Reg Owen's jazzy score flits around the drama (love that ominous double bass), we are led to a wholly satisfactory conclusion. Cast are great, especially the wonderful Whitelaw, and Steward's photography is crisp and on the money. 8/10

Footnote: Some scenes were filmed in Rugby, Warwickshire, so it's not exclusively on location in Newcastle. And of course as any Geordie will tell you, there's a distinct lack of Geordie accents in the picture.

'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!

This is a very decent British crime film with some excellent moments. Tom bell carries off the part of the main baddie pretty well but I do not feel he is consistently good throughout, although this may well be shortcomings in the script, which certainly needed tightening up. I thought Billie Whitelaw rather unconvincing as mother of two and amateur sleuth, but she just about gets away with it. No, for me it is Francoise Prevost who brings this film to life. She dominates every frame she is in and the whole film seems to step up a gear. We are uncertain as to her motives and I am sure this is intended if unusual in a film such as this. Most refreshing that we should take to a character and then not really be sure whether we should be cheering or not. Shades of 'The Wire'?!! There is some fine location action and indeed it is some of the car or hideout interiors that slow the film down. Overall though, well worth a watch and something out of the ordinary.