''Live Now, Pay Later'' is a 1962 British black-and-white

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by

Jay Lewis Jay Gardner Lewis (1914 – June 4, 1969) was a British film director, producer and writer. Starting in the theatre, he joined British International Pictures in 1933. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Sydne ...

and starring

Ian Hendry Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was an English actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of '' The Avengers'' and '' The Lotus Eaters.'' He was no ...

June Ritchie June Rose Ritchie (born 31 May 1941) is a British actress. Early life She attended Stretford Children's Theatre from the age of nine. She left school in Manchester, aged 16, to train as a secretary, working for the Manchester Ship Canal Comp ...

and

John Gregson Harold Thomas Gregson (15 March 1919 – 8 January 1975), known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles. Gregson w ...

. It was loosely based on the 1961 novel ''All on the Never-Never'' by

Jack Lindsay John Lindsay , FRSL (20 October 1900 – 8 March 1990) was an Australian-born writer. He was born in Melbourne, but spent his formative years in Brisbane. He was the eldest son of Norman Lindsay and brother of author Philip Lindsay. Early li ...

. However, the script was solely written by

Jack Trevor Story Jack Trevor Story (30 March 1917 – 5 December 1991) was a British novelist, publishing prolifically from the 1940s to the 1970s. His best-known works are the 1949 comic mystery ''The Trouble with Harry'' (which was adapted for Alfred Hitc ...

, who subsequently authored the 1963 novel ''Live Now, Pay Later''. The film focuses on the life of a salesman who habitually seduces his female customers in order to convince them to buy his products. He is secretly embezzling money from the sales, and has a side career as a blackmailer.

Plot

Unsavoury door-to-door salesman Albert Argyle's technique involves bedding his female customers in an attempt to seduce them to buy on credit. As well as being unfaithful to his pregnant girlfriend, the unrepentant Argyle is also cheating his boss out of profits, and trying his hand at a spot of blackmail.

Cast

as Albert Argyle *

as Treasure *

as Callendar *

Liz Fraser Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles. Early life Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of b ...

as Joyce Corby *

Geoffrey Keen Geoffrey Keen (21 August 1916 – 3 November 2005) was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many films. He is well known for playing British Defence Minister Sir Frederick Gray in the ''James Bond'' films. Biography Early li ...

as Reggie Corby * Jeanette Sterke as Grace *

Peter Butterworth Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth (4 February 1915Nyree Dawn Porter Nyree Dawn Porter OBE (born Ngaire Dawn Porter; 22 January 1936 – 10 April 2001) was a New Zealand–British actress. She started performing on stage in New Zealand, moving to the UK in 1958. She is best known for her role as Irene in the BBC ...

as Marjorie Mason * Ronald Howard as Cedric Mason * Harold Berens as Solly Cowell * Thelma Ruby as Hetty *

Monte Landis Max Landstein (20 April 1933 – 14 December 2024), known as Monte Landis, was a Scottish-American film and television actor. Landis was perhaps best known for playing the comic foil in multiple episodes of ''The Monkees'', most notably as Mr. ...

as Arnold (credited as Monty Landis) * Kevin Brennan as Jackson * Malcolm Knight as Ratty *

Bridget Armstrong Bridget Armstrong (born 1937, Dunedin) is a New Zealand actress. She was educated at St Patrick's Dominican College, Teschemakers, Oamaru. She appeared on stage, film and TV several times, including '' The Lost Tribe (The Goodies)''; as Nurse Ros ...

as Gloria *

Judith Furse Judith Furse (4 March 1912 – 29 August 1974) was an English actress. Career She was a member of the Furse family; her father was Lieutenant-General Sir William Furse and mother Jean Adelaide Furse. Her brother, Roger, became a stage desig ...

as Mrs. Ackroyd (credited as Judith Furze) *

Joan Heal Joan Heal (17 October 1922 – 12 April 1998) was an English actress and singer, known for her appearances in revue in the 1940s and 1950s. Life and career Heal was born in Vobster, Somerset, and educated at Bath High School and later the Old ...

as Mrs. Pocock * Michael Brennan as bailiff *

Geoffrey Hibbert Geoffrey Hibbert (2 June 1922 – 3 February 1969) was an English stage, film and television actor. Biography He made his screen debut with the lead role in John Baxter's '' The Common Touch'' (1941) and appeared in two other Baxter films, '' ...

as Price * William Kendall as Major Simpkins * Georgina Cookson as Lucy *

Justine Lord Justine Lord (born Jennifer Lily Schooling; 8 March 1937) is an English actress, active on television throughout the 1960s. She began her acting career in repertory theatre. In the 1960s she made guest appearances in '' Live Now, Pay Later'' ...

as Coral Wentworth *

Andrew Cruickshank Andrew John Maxton Cruickshank (25 December 190729 April 1988) was a Scottish actor, most famous for his portrayal of Dr Cameron in the long-running UK BBC television series ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'', which ran for 191 episodes from 1962 until ...

as vicar * John Wood as curate *

Peter Bowles Peter John Bowles (16 October 1936 – 17 March 2022) was an English screen and stage actor. He gained prominence for television dramas such as '' Callan: A Magnum for Schneider'' and '' I, Claudius''. He is best remembered for his roles in sit ...

as Reginald Parker *

Diana King Diana King (born 8 November 1970) is a Jamaican singer-songwriter who performs a mixture and fusion of reggae, reggae fusion and dancehall. They are best known for their hit 1995 single " Shy Guy" and their remake of " I Say a Little Prayer ...

as woman looking round flat *

Robert Raglan Robert Raglan (7 April 1909 – 18 July 1985) was a British actor best known for his semi-regular role in ''Dad's Army'' as Colonel Pritchard. He also starred in a number of other television series and films such as ''Fabian of the Yard'' (1954 ...

as first bailiff on doorstep

Production

Filming locations included

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, which follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...

and

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

. A version of the opening titles song "Live Now, Pay Later" (

Clive Westlake Gerald Clive Westlake (25 December 1932 – 17 June 2000)Doug Sheldon (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

45-F 11529).

Release

The only known print was discovered and made available on DVD in June 2020 and has been shown on

Talking Pictures TV Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky. Later it also became available on Freeview, Freesat and Virgin Media. It is on air 24 hours a day and fe ...

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' considered the film to have "many amusing moments, but overall it is untidy and does not develop the personalities of some of the main characters sufficiently. Extraneous situations are dragged in without helping the plot development overmuch." ''

Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' said: "It is the cheerful unpretentiousness of its

social criticism Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general. Social criticism of the Enlightenment The origin of modern ...

which gives the film its rather endearing flavour. ... The unevenness in the acting and the perpetual uncertainty of mood indicates a lack of control in Jay Lewis's direction. Nevertheless his film is constantly entertaining, and it has both a conscience and a heart."

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

opined: "A satirical farce which lets fly in too many directions at once and has a cumulatively cheerless effect despite some funny moments." The ''Radio Times Guide to Films'' gave the film 5/5 stars, calling the film: "a remarkably cynical and revealing portrait of Britain shifting from postwar austerity into rampant consumerism and the Swinging Sixties. ... Hendry's character is appalling, yet he is also sympathetic since he's the only person who ever does anything in a society built on inertia and the sense of defeat that ony wartime victory can bring. " In ''Hollywood, England: British Film Industry in the Sixties'' Alexander Walker wrote: "The film's cynicism was total, its targets were ruthlessly demolished, and everything had the vigour of a cartoonist's world where the action is carried an instant beyond its naturalistic conclusion."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0056189, Live Now, Pay Later 1962 films 1962 comedy-drama films 1962 black comedy films 1960s pregnancy films British black-and-white films British black comedy films Films scored by Ron Grainer 1960s English-language films 1960s British films Films about salespeople Films about infidelity Films based on British novels Films shot in London Films shot in Hertfordshire Films shot in Bedfordshire Rediscovered British films 1960s rediscovered films English-language black comedy films