After committing a horrible murder, an insolvent bank clerk finds the PAYMENT DEFERRED on his crime in the most surprising matter.
Reprising his stage role, Charles Laughton, all fidgets & blinks, is the main reason to view this little film. He overacts outrageously and is vastly entertaining to watch, even if the plot of this domestic melodrama becomes turgid at times. With his large face, sad eyes & nervous body, he is the very picture of a man dealing with a terribly guilty conscience. Cooing like a dove, roused to brutish wrath or laughing maniacally, Laughton is certainly never boring. With his great film roles still ahead of him (Henry VIII, Bligh, Quasimodo), Laughton in this early role shows hints of his eventual greatness.
The rest of the cast really defer to Laughton, but they all play their parts very well, especially Dorothy Peterson as his long-suffering wife - her emotional agony as Laughton's secrets slowly dawn upon her are truly painful to watch. Maureen O'Sullivan shows spunk as their social climbing daughter; Verree Teasdale is pure poison as a French seductress.
Billy Bevan as a nosy neighbor, Halliwell Hobbes as an old fellow fascinated with crime, and young Ray Milland as Laughton's charming, tragic nephew all make their small roles memorable.
The frankly handled adultery points to the film's pre-Production Code status.
Reprising his stage role, Charles Laughton, all fidgets & blinks, is the main reason to view this little film. He overacts outrageously and is vastly entertaining to watch, even if the plot of this domestic melodrama becomes turgid at times. With his large face, sad eyes & nervous body, he is the very picture of a man dealing with a terribly guilty conscience. Cooing like a dove, roused to brutish wrath or laughing maniacally, Laughton is certainly never boring. With his great film roles still ahead of him (Henry VIII, Bligh, Quasimodo), Laughton in this early role shows hints of his eventual greatness.
The rest of the cast really defer to Laughton, but they all play their parts very well, especially Dorothy Peterson as his long-suffering wife - her emotional agony as Laughton's secrets slowly dawn upon her are truly painful to watch. Maureen O'Sullivan shows spunk as their social climbing daughter; Verree Teasdale is pure poison as a French seductress.
Billy Bevan as a nosy neighbor, Halliwell Hobbes as an old fellow fascinated with crime, and young Ray Milland as Laughton's charming, tragic nephew all make their small roles memorable.
The frankly handled adultery points to the film's pre-Production Code status.