Payment Deferred

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.

Of all the stars of the 1930s, Charles Laughton was probably one of the most unlikely. He was fat, not handsome, and as hammy as any film actor in history. But he was also a colossal talent. For years, filmgoers couldn't take their eyes of him when he was on screen. Laughton was a star. Payment Deferred was an early starring role, and while Laughton is twitchy and hammy, he's also wonderful as the timid bank clerk who turns to murder. Stagy but effective little thriller. Maureen O'Sullivan and Ray Milland (in one of his first sizable roles) are also good as are Dorothy Peterson (as the wife), Veree Teasdale (as the shop owner), Halliwell Hobbes, Ethel Griffies, Doris Lloyd, Billy Bevan, and William Stack. But Laughton is front and center and he's a joy to watch.

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.

Nice dark, interestingly twisted little tale about murder and the inevitable insanity that accompanies it. I was especially taken with the treatment of Mr. Marble's wife who strikes me as even more wacko than he is, albeit in a more subtle way. At its best this film resembles early Hitchcock offerings like "Murder" and "The Lodger" although you can bet your cyanide bottle that had Hitch directed it he would have cut out the needless opening and maudlin last scene and put a check on Laughton's usual scenery chewing. Give it a B.

It seems like something Hitchcock might do, in that what the wrongdoer did from the start is known, and it is also somewhat like a film noir in that you can see how the main character might have spent his entire life as a law abiding citizen had he not become desperate.

Often seen on Turner Classic Movies in the past, since MGM had the rights to it, it hasn't been shown for over four years. It is about a bank teller, William Marble (Charles Laughton), whose family bills have mounted to the point that the bank tells him if he does not settle his accounts they will fire him. (That will fix things!...for the bank). A family meeting over the matter shows that although the Marbles live simply there were some discretionary expenses.

Then one night in the midst of this crisis a long forgotten nephew, James Medland (Ray Milland) from Australia, shows up. Marble's wife and daughter retire for the evening, and when Marble sees that his nephew is carrying considerable cash, he pitches his idea of betting on the French franc, since he knows about a plan to manipulate the currency. Medland flatly refuses and wants to leave, but Marble tries to make it up with him by having a drink with him. This is where those camera supplies that Marble bought come in handy. They include cyanide.

You don't actually SEE what happens, but by Laughton's mannerisms, off hand remarks, and his preoccupation with the backyard you know he killed the nephew, buried him in the backyard, and took his cash. Marble goes and makes his currency trades and ends up with thirty thousand pounds, enough for his family to live on for the rest of their lives. Or until inflation kicks in but that's another story.

But Marble really isn't free. He's just traded off one set of troubles for another. His wife wants to move to a different house. Theirs is rather shabby. But he refuses. It becomes the source of some tension between them, but there he is - the rich man tethered to the grave of his unwilling benefactor for the rest of his life or else it is the gallows. And Winnie, his daughter (Maureen O'Sullivan), becomes a partying snob and back talker. He sends his wife and daughter on a vacation without him so maybe his nerves will heal. And up like a snake pops a neighborhood shopkeeper and he has an affair, but all she really wants is to blackmail him, threatening to tell his wife. And then the notices appear in the paper asking people if they have seen James Medland, because his family has heard nothing and he has disappeared.

How does this all turn out?Watch and find out the great ironic ending. One matter of interest - three members of the cast were reunited 16 years later in Paramount's "The Big Clock" - Laughton, Milland, and O'Sullivan. Laughton had reached legend status by this time, but fortunes had really turned for Ray Milland, who is the main character in that film versus spending the vast majority of this film pushing up daisies, literally speaking.