Michael_Elliott Payment Deferred (1932)*** (out of 4) A bank clerk (Charles Laughton) decides to kill his rich nephew (Ray Milland) so that he can steal his wallet and pay off his families debt, which is about to put them in the poor house. After the murder Laughton sends his wife (Dorothy Peterson) and daughter (Maureen O'Sullivan) on a trip and enters an affair. This is a rather interesting film, which has certainly been forgotten over the years but it's tale of a father murdering due to becoming poor might work just as good today as it did in 1932. The film is based on a famous play and for the most part the film plays out like you'd see it on stage but this is also a weakness as there's way too much talk going on. The screenplay seems to bounce back and forth from a serious drama to a crime film and even at times coming off like a black comedy. Laughton turns in a very good performance, although he does take it a bit over the top at times. You'll notice this whenever he begins to freak out that someone is going to find the body that he's buried in his back yard. This part of his performance might lend itself to the black comedy aspect. Milland doesn't have much of a role as he gets killed off rather early on but he's playing that jerk of a bad guy that we'd see him play throughout his career. O'Sullivan has a pretty thankless role but it's nice seeing her anyways.

LCShackley If you like British mysteries from the 20s and 30s, this film will be right up your alley. It has all the twists and turns of the plays and books from that period. Charles Laughton plays Mr. Marble, a low-level bank employee who resorts to crime in order to get the cash he needs to play the market. He's the kind of lower-middle-class guy who, when he finally gets some cash, fills his tawdry parlor with Victorian gewgaws and paintings like "September Morn" because he thinks it shows "class." (His daughter, who grows into a snob once the money starts flowing, mocks him for his cheap vulgarity.)He makes the mistake of falling into the clutches of a cheap French floozy who complicates life even further. The clever script keeps taking unexpected turns until the closing curtain.For me, the problem with the film wasn't that it was dated. The problem is Charles Laughton. I have never understood his appeal. His face is often void of any expression except a sort of sheep-like stupidity (same as when he played Javert in LES MIS), and he overacts consistently, like villains in silent movie potboilers. The ending of the film was spoiled for me by the goofy shot of him laughing maniacally while everything around him fades.But...if you can enjoy a good plot even when the leading man goes way over the top, this is a pleasant murder mystery from a long-lost age.

bkoganbing 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.

reve-2 A family which is on it's way to the poor house suddenly acquires wealth because of a murder. The husband enters into an affair with a nefarious woman who, naturally, proceeds to blackmail him. The attempt to cover-up both the murder and the affair form the basis of this movie.The story line is a most interesting one. But, this film was made way back in 1932 and, by today's standards, the production is very dated and old fashioned. Charles Laughton, while undeniably a great actor, goes a bit "over the top" at times. The actress who plays his wife constantly overacts in a style that was probably "de rigeur" in the early 1930s but, to say the least, is somewhat annoying in these modern times. I am usually against remakes but I think that I would like to see a modern version of this story. I believe that it would be a very impressive film.