A man poisons his nephew out of desperation for money.A man poisons his nephew out of desperation for money.A man poisons his nephew out of desperation for money.
- Awards
- 1 win
Crauford Kent
- Broker
- (uncredited)
C. Montague Shaw
- Mr. Edwards
- (uncredited)
Carl Stockdale
- Jailer
- (uncredited)
Harry Stubbs
- Mr. Evans
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe play opened on Broadway in New York City, New York on 30 September 1931 at the Lyceum Theater, 149 W. 45th St. and ran for 70 performances. Charles Laughton originated the role of William Marble. Also in the cast were Elsa Lanchester and Lionel Pape. Originally produced in the "pre-code" era, five dialogue cuts to remove suggestive remarks were made for the picture's 1939 re-release. Some censors eliminated references to cyanide before allowing the showing of the movie. Turner Classic Movies airs the original uncensored version, which has been preserved by the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York.
- GoofsIn the final scene, a boom-mike shadow catches William Marble's last words and then pulls up and out of the shot.
- Quotes
Marguerite Collins: Here I am, tied to a little shop. Ah well. We must try to smile, eh? But it is lonely. My husband is in a hospital in France. The war.
William Marble: Where was he wounded?
Marguerite Collins: Ohhh...
[shakes head]
Marguerite Collins: . That I cannot tell you. Oh, it is terrible!
Featured review
We All Pay In The End
At a time when so very few stage actors got to recreate their parts for the screen we are fortunate that MGM acquired Payment Deferred and Irving Thalberg wanted Charles Laughton enough to borrow him from Paramount and Adolph Zukor who had brought him to Hollywood on the strength of his performance in Payment Deferred. The play is adaption by Jeffrey Dell based on a novel by C.S. Forrester who is better known for such historical novels as the Horatio Hornblower series.
The play originated in Great Britain and Laughton created the role of the father on the stage with Elsa Lanchester playing his daughter. He also did it in 1931 for 70 performances also co-starring with his wife Elsa Lanchester. In 1931 during the Depression that was a respectable run on Broadway.
Laughton plays a bank clerk who's up against it in those Depression years with his family, wife Dorothy Peterson and daughter Maureen O'Sullivan facing imminent eviction. Along comes nephew Ray Milland, newly arrived from Australia, with a ton of money. He tries to interest Milland in a sure investment thing he's heard about from the bank, but can't capitalize on. When Milland refuses he poisons him when they're alone and buries him in the backyard, after taking whatever money he needs.
The investment pays off, but Laughton is not a criminal at heart and he's a rather weak willed individual who drifts into an affair with new neighbor Verree Teasdale again when wife and daughter are away. That leads to blackmail and another murder and all for the wrong reasons.
Mystery fans will no doubt catch the similarities between Payment Deferred and the James M. Cain classic, The Postman Always Rings Twice. It works out the same way in the film, so if you've seen the famous movie of that novel that starred John Garfield and Lana Turner you know how Payment Deferred will come out.
In adapting the play MGM did not do a terribly good job of disguising the stage origins. It is in fact a one set play, the living room of the Laughton/Peterson house. However Laughton is riveting in his part and the rest of the cast supports him ably.
When next broadcast don't miss Payment Deferred, for the legion of fans that Charles Laughton has, it's a must.
The play originated in Great Britain and Laughton created the role of the father on the stage with Elsa Lanchester playing his daughter. He also did it in 1931 for 70 performances also co-starring with his wife Elsa Lanchester. In 1931 during the Depression that was a respectable run on Broadway.
Laughton plays a bank clerk who's up against it in those Depression years with his family, wife Dorothy Peterson and daughter Maureen O'Sullivan facing imminent eviction. Along comes nephew Ray Milland, newly arrived from Australia, with a ton of money. He tries to interest Milland in a sure investment thing he's heard about from the bank, but can't capitalize on. When Milland refuses he poisons him when they're alone and buries him in the backyard, after taking whatever money he needs.
The investment pays off, but Laughton is not a criminal at heart and he's a rather weak willed individual who drifts into an affair with new neighbor Verree Teasdale again when wife and daughter are away. That leads to blackmail and another murder and all for the wrong reasons.
Mystery fans will no doubt catch the similarities between Payment Deferred and the James M. Cain classic, The Postman Always Rings Twice. It works out the same way in the film, so if you've seen the famous movie of that novel that starred John Garfield and Lana Turner you know how Payment Deferred will come out.
In adapting the play MGM did not do a terribly good job of disguising the stage origins. It is in fact a one set play, the living room of the Laughton/Peterson house. However Laughton is riveting in his part and the rest of the cast supports him ably.
When next broadcast don't miss Payment Deferred, for the legion of fans that Charles Laughton has, it's a must.
- bkoganbing
- Nov 16, 2008
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $197,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 21 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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