Paid (1930 film)
Paid is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film[2][3] starring Joan Crawford, Robert Armstrong, and Kent Douglass in a story about a wrongly accused ex-convict who seeks revenge on those who sent her to prison using a scam called the "Heart Balm Racket".
| Paid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Sam Wood |
| Produced by | Sam Wood |
| Written by | Adaptation: Lucien Hubbard Adaptation & Dialogue: Charles MacArthur |
| Based on | "Within the Law" (1912 play) by Bayard Veiller |
| Starring | Joan Crawford Robert Armstrong Kent Douglass |
| Music by | Yellen & Ager |
| Cinematography | Charles Rosher |
| Edited by | Hugh Wynn |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $385,000[1] |
| Box office | $1,231,000[1] |
The film was adapted by Lucien Hubbard and Charles MacArthur from the play, Within the Law by Bayard Veiller (1912) and was the fourth film version of the play. The film was directed and produced by Sam Wood.[4]
Plot and cast
Unjustly sent to prison, Mary Turner (Joan Crawford) plots revenge upon those who sent her there - district attorney Demarest (Hale Hamilton) and Edward Gilder (Purnell Pratt). Once released she meets Joe Garson (Armstrong), an experienced crook, and together they concoct a breach of promise scam to be perpetrated upon the well-heeled elderly. In an ambitious step, Mary weds her enemy's son Bob Gilder (Douglass Montgomery). At the end, she has come to terms with her past and seeks peace of mind rather than revenge. A subplot involves a police-thwarted heist of a painting and the capture of Mary's comrade-in-crime Joe Garson (Robert Armstrong). Cast includes Marie Prevost and Polly Moran as Mary's fellow prison inmates.
Cast
- Joan Crawford as Mary Turner
- Robert Armstrong as Joe Garson
- Marie Prevost as Agnes Lynch
- Douglass Montgomery as Bob Gilder
- John Miljan as Inspector Burke
- Purnell Pratt as Edward Gilder
- Hale Hamilton as District Attorney Demarest
- Robert Emmett O'Connor as Detective Sergeant Cassidy
- Tyrell Davis as Eddie Griggs
- William Bakewell as B.M. Carney
- George Cooper as Red
- Gwen Lee as Bertha
- Louise Beavers as Black Convict (uncredited)
- Edward Brophy as Burglar (uncredited)
- Payne B. Johnson as Baby (uncredited)
- Fred Kelsey as Night Policeman (uncredited)
- Wilbur Mack as Mr. Irwin (uncredited)
- Tom Mahoney as Policeman at District Attorney's Office (uncredited)
- Polly Moran as Polly
- Lee Phelps as Court Bailiff (uncredited)
- Herbert Prior as General Harrison (uncredited)
- Jed Prouty as Policeman Williams (uncredited)
- Walter Walker as Judge Lawler (uncredited)
- Clarence Wilson as Max Hardy (uncredited)
Reception
Photoplay commented, "The story is absorbing and Joan is simply grand!" The New York Times noted, "Miss Crawford and Miss Prevost are very good in their roles."[5]
Box office
According to MGM records the film earned $920,000 in the US and Canada and $311,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $415,000.[1]
References
- The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
- Variety film review; January 7, 1931, page22.
- Harrison's Reports film review; January 10, 1931, page 7
- Paid (1930) notes, tcm.com; accessed July 24, 2015.
- Quirk, Lawrence J.. The Films of Joan Crawford. The Citadel Press, 1968.