What makes PAYMENT DEFERRED even more of a curiosity is that three of its stars: CHARLES LAUGHTON, MAUREEN O'SULLIVAN and RAY MILLAND would all appear about fifteen years later in THE BIG CLOCK.
Ray Milland has a small role as a debonair and wealthy man whose wealth is just what Laughton needs, since he's facing eviction unless he can make the next payment on the house he shares with DOROTHY PETERSON (his wife) and daughter MAUREEN O'SULLIVAN.
Laughton manages to poison Milland and accumulate his wealth. The plot thickens when a flirtatious blackmailer (VERREE TEASDALE) wins his affection by starting an intimate relationship while his wife and daughter are away. To tell the rest, is giving away too much of the plot.
What's really amazing is how much unadulterated "ham" Laughton is able to get away with. You can almost see Ray Milland sizing him up (with side glances) in the scene where he's about to be poisoned and probably knowing he was being outplayed by a master of the art.
The story has an ending very much in the same vein as ANOTHER MAN'S POISON--but is rather stage-bound with almost all of the action taking place on one set.
Summing up: Laughton is fascinating but there's a primitive look to the whole tale. Interesting to see a young Ray Milland in a minor role.
Ray Milland has a small role as a debonair and wealthy man whose wealth is just what Laughton needs, since he's facing eviction unless he can make the next payment on the house he shares with DOROTHY PETERSON (his wife) and daughter MAUREEN O'SULLIVAN.
Laughton manages to poison Milland and accumulate his wealth. The plot thickens when a flirtatious blackmailer (VERREE TEASDALE) wins his affection by starting an intimate relationship while his wife and daughter are away. To tell the rest, is giving away too much of the plot.
What's really amazing is how much unadulterated "ham" Laughton is able to get away with. You can almost see Ray Milland sizing him up (with side glances) in the scene where he's about to be poisoned and probably knowing he was being outplayed by a master of the art.
The story has an ending very much in the same vein as ANOTHER MAN'S POISON--but is rather stage-bound with almost all of the action taking place on one set.
Summing up: Laughton is fascinating but there's a primitive look to the whole tale. Interesting to see a young Ray Milland in a minor role.