Payment Deferred

This crime-doesn't-pay melodrama features a pyrotechnical performance by Charles Laughton as an impoverished bank clerk who poisons and robs his wealthy nephew, using the spoils to speculate with great success on the currency exchange, sending him into a high income bracket virtually overnight.

The exposition is glaringly obvious and contrived, especially the key sequence of the murder itself which is right out of a 1909 two-reeler. Yet it's all gripping because you can't help wondering how it will all work out.

Surrounding the main course of Laughton's steaming spiced ham are plausible performances from Dorothy Peterson as his timid, long-suffering wife, Maureen O'Sullivan as his innocent, earnest daughter, Ray Milland as the ill-fated nephew who shows up out of nowhere just when the plot needs him, and last but not least Miss Veree Teasdale in her element as a cold, greedy, calculating shop owner who develops a sudden interest in Laughton when she learns of his newly acquired wealth.

One can only surmise that the source play developed the situations more convincingly because the essential arc makes sense: a desperate man commits a crime and gets away with it for a while, only to pay for it later in an unexpected way. Between these two high marks we see the corrosive effect of sudden monetary gain on the mores of a lower class family unit.

Finally, Laughton gets to indulge in a spell of insane cackling as he did in another 1932 release, "Devil and the Deep."

After committing a horrible murder, an insolvent bank clerk finds the PAYMENT DEFERRED on his crime in the most surprising matter.

Reprising his stage role, Charles Laughton, all fidgets & blinks, is the main reason to view this little film. He overacts outrageously and is vastly entertaining to watch, even if the plot of this domestic melodrama becomes turgid at times. With his large face, sad eyes & nervous body, he is the very picture of a man dealing with a terribly guilty conscience. Cooing like a dove, roused to brutish wrath or laughing maniacally, Laughton is certainly never boring. With his great film roles still ahead of him (Henry VIII, Bligh, Quasimodo), Laughton in this early role shows hints of his eventual greatness.

The rest of the cast really defer to Laughton, but they all play their parts very well, especially Dorothy Peterson as his long-suffering wife - her emotional agony as Laughton's secrets slowly dawn upon her are truly painful to watch. Maureen O'Sullivan shows spunk as their social climbing daughter; Verree Teasdale is pure poison as a French seductress.

Billy Bevan as a nosy neighbor, Halliwell Hobbes as an old fellow fascinated with crime, and young Ray Milland as Laughton's charming, tragic nephew all make their small roles memorable.

The frankly handled adultery points to the film's pre-Production Code status.

A gem from the `crime doesn't pay' school of story-telling. Ray Milland has a pretty small role in this obscure but interesting crime drama. Banker Charles Laughton murders young Ray for the money he needs for an investment that will make him rich. In the first few minutes of the film, Ray ends up planted in Charles' back yard, and Charles turns into a nervous wreck, worried about who will dig up Ray. After the investment makes him rich, he sends his wife and daughter off on vacation while he has an affair. Just when you think Laughton couldn't get himself in any deep, the plot takes a surprising turn. The story will keep you guessing, and you won't be disappointed in the climax.

One little hint: the title doesn't refer to money. The `payment' is for crimes committed. As always, Laughton is a delight to watch, and Maureen O'Sullivan (his daughter) is as gorgeous as ever. `Payment Deferred' is a good example of the kind of deliciously bizarre films which the 1930's produced.

Make no mistake, this one belongs to Charles Laughton. Bringing this role from the stage, his movements and facial expressions are over exaggerated and hammy by later standards. But he was a monumental talent.

The movie is a taut, well constructed murder mystery, with Laughton as a man who almost gets away with murder and an illicit affair. Almost. His wife (Dorothy Peterson, no mean actress in her own right) discovers both, and extracts her revenge in a marvelously twisted plot device, which almost, but not quite, pushes the boundaries of believability.

Veree Teasdale as the paramour who turns to blackmail is fine.

An early appearance by Ray Milland (billed as Raymond Milland) is credible, as the rich Australian nephew, who shows up at the wrong time (for him).

Have a watch.

For those who feel this film reminds them of a stage play I must say I have seen a few movies that could fit that description, but Payment Deferred does not.

The characters draw you into their world, a small glimpse of life during the early part of the last century. My mother used to squeeze oranges for my dad each morning on the same sort of juicer Charles Laughton uses while caring for his wife. And always having guests come in to the (usually) single heated room was de rigueur.

The comment regarding the clues being too obvious was likely from a younger person - in the old days one did not touch anything belonging to the father of the household! We were not even allowed to change the radio dial. My grandmother was not allowed to paint on Sundays or use bright colours, my dad could not read the funny papers on a Sunday, his children could not attend the movie theatre.

Payment Deferred drew me back into its time capsule - good story, casting and excellent acting.