Payroll

source: I Promised to Pay

Moviecut—I Promised to Pay

I saw this as a kid at the cinema with my father on its release, and much later on television. Things had certainly dated the second time around, but that's not really the movie's 'fault'. In 1961, censorship was still pretty strict as regards stuff like the depiction of criminal violence. And of course, the villains must never be seen to succeed. At the same time - as other commentators have mentioned - it was filmed on Tyneside but without the 'Geordie' accent. The strength of that regional voice was still so marked at the time as to have been largely incomprehensible to the general (read, home counties) British public. It certainly wouldn't have been understood across the Atlantic. So; safe and clearly-spoken actors were parachuted in. And why not? Authenticity is not much use if it's incomprehensible. Ten years later, even in the much grittier 'Get Carter', how many strong regional accents do you hear? Jack Carter himself is played by London-born-and-bred Micheal Caine. Whilst Ian Hendry, and John Osborne were likewise southern boys. In fact, the only genuine northerner with a substantial role was Alun Armstrong. The 'accented' rest mostly came from the midlands. It would take another 20 years (1991) and the appearance of Jimmy Nail's 'Spender' before the authentic voice of Tyneside would finally be heard in crime drama. So give it a break. The players did pretty well for what was, as a British production, an evidently limited budget. Tom Bell was excellent. His was a sampler of what would later be realised as 'Frank Ross' in the well-crafted TV serial 'OUT', and later 'Prime Suspect'. Micheal Craig was adequate as a slimy-smart master villain. Dunno 'bout the French bird. Maybe to southern middle-class film-making luvvies, a French accent was easier on the ear than an English northern one. The build-up of the plot was well paced and tense. The depiction of the robbery itself was extremely grim. You don't see the sort of preposterous gore and slaughter of a modern flick with its multiple camera sequences and endless flash-cutting, but it was dramatic enough and menacing enough to convey a very plausible sense of violence. The simplicity itself made it more convincing. That's something the slick directors of today with their plethora of special-effects seem to have forgotten. The flawed bank-robbery in 'Heat', for example, is no more tense for all of its mayhem and gunfire. I agree that the story lost a little of its edge towards the end. The concept of a vengeful woman bringing the baddies to book was itself not a very original idea, being an element of Graham Greene's 'Brighton Rock'. But all the gang got their desserts in suitably unpleasant ways, and right finally prevailed. I must also mention the unusual theme/incidental music which was rather daring for its time. A spartan 8-note base guitar riff like something concocted by 'The Shadows' provided extra layers of tension or respite, depending upon the tempo of the moment. It was simple and effective, and carried a surprising sense of menace when the jazz band upped the pace. One is again reminded of 'Get Carter, or even 'Pelham 123'. I wouldn't exactly call this a 'gem' of a movie, but then it certainly wasn't bad either. A movie of the time, like 'Hell Drivers' or 'Frightened City'; you certainly got your money's worth, but not much else. I'm giving it 7/10, which seems fair.

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.

Fifty years on, this film comes across as badly dated and as such is interesting rather than particularly enjoyable. The characters' lack of authenticity is surprising given that TV's 'Coronation Street' was already going strong and 'Room at the Top' had come out two years earlier, but RADA accents are the order of the day here. And disappointingly little is made of the Newcastle locations beyond a few shots of the Tyne bridges. As for the story, the stormy relationship between the two 'bad' characters played by Craig and Prevost carries most tension despite being developed rather late, with the vengeful widow element working less well.

There has never,in my view been a blander,more anodyne leading man in British cinema than Michael Craig,and his faintly ludicrous performance as a "hard man"drags this movie down into the depths. It is about a botched payroll robbery during which an unplanned fatality occurs.The widow of the deceased sets out to track down the culprits The always watchable Billie Whitelaw and Kenneth Griffith contribute effective performances,as does William Lucas, but they are fighting a losing battle against a woeful script and a miscast lead duo in Craig and Francois Prevost The British cinema then was too middle class and genteel to do this kind of thing well and it is little more than a period curiosity for today,s audiences

Most of the film's interest to me is because its nostalgia value. It's a year younger than I, and was filmed locally. The studios' horror of the working classes and their accents is shown by parachuting in a stilted 'Michael Craig' (qv) as lead. 'Billie Whitelaw' (qv)'s supporting role redeems the acting somewhat. The high tech security surrounding the payroll of the title is quaint, to say the least. This is a film about a robbery. `Heist' implies a much faster pace than this movie ever manages. Without the local nostalgia value, I wouldn't have sat thru to the end once, let alone have seen it again.

When thieves fall out... somewhat formulaic story admittedly but very well done. Beautifully evocative b&w shots of early 60's Britain - sometimes think things really were b&w in those days. I think Craig is an excellent choice as the brooding Mellors and that Prevost was a much undervalued actress - very cool as the femme fatale. Some of the "hi tech" stuff which looks so funny now was probably really cutting edge then. Check out the photocopier and the tape player. This film really does go through some of the clichés but is none the worse off for doing so. It also showcases the overlooked talents of the leads as well as introducing us to Tom Bell, who went on to have a fine career and is best known for being the wry cynical sidekick to Helen Mirren in the excellent Prime Suspect. Great music too!

'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!

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.