''Payroll'' is a 1961

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

crime thriller starring Michael Craig and

Françoise Prévost Françoise Prévost (c. 1680 in Paris – 1741 in Paris) was a French ballerina who helped establish dramatic dance in the early world of classical ballet. She was expressive, light and dramatic in style. In 1699, Prevost debuted at the Paris O ...

. Directed by

Sidney Hayers Sidney Hayers (24 August 1921 – 8 February 2000) was a British film and television director, writer and producer. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Hayers began his career as a film editor. Among the films he directed are '' Circus of Horrors'' (1 ...

, it was based by screenwriter

George Baxt George Baxt (June 11, 1923 – June 28, 2003) was an American screenwriter and author of crime fiction, best remembered for creating the gay black detective, Pharaoh Love. Four of his novels were finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Myst ...

on a novel by

Derek Bickerton Derek Bickerton (March 25, 1926 – March 5, 2018) was an English-born linguist and professor at the University of Hawaii in Manoa. Based on his work in creole languages in Guyana and Hawaii, he has proposed that the features of creole languages ...

. The story is about a gang of villains who stage a wages robbery that goes disastrously wrong.

Plot

Four crooks (Johnny Mellors, Monty, Blackie and Bert) plan and execute a robbery on a payroll van, using the inside knowledge of Dennis Pearson, who works as an accountant at the firm concerned. Pearson is under pressure to support his wife Katie (

), who demands a higher standard of living. However, the van driver, Harry Parker, is killed during the heist, while Bert is fatally wounded by Parker's colleague Frank Moore. Nevertheless, the gang manages to get away with £50,000. Having found out that Pearson was the 'inside man', Parker's widow Jackie (

Billie Whitelaw Billie Honor Whitelaw (6 June 1932 – 21 December 2014) was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was al ...

) starts posting threatening letters to him. Katie in the meantime has become involved with Johnny, hoping to get some of the money for herself. As the gang members start to argue amongst themselves, they are pursued by both Katie and Jackie. The climax takes place in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, with Johnny and Katie double-crossing each other and Jackie tracking Johnny in her bid for revenge.

Cast

* Michael Craig as Johnny Mellors *

as Katie Pearson *

as Jackie Parker * William Lucas as Dennis Pearson *

Kenneth Griffith Kenneth Griffith (born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths, 12 October 1921 – 25 June 2006) was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker. His outspoken views made him a controversial figure, especially when presenting documentaries which have been ca ...

as Monty Dunston * Tom Bell as Blackie * Barry Keegan as Bert Langridge *

Edward Cast Edward Raymond Cast (1925–1994) was a British stage, film and television actor. Selected filmography * '' The Dam Busters'' (1955) - Crew Member (uncredited) * ''Private's Progress'' (1956) - Intelligence Officer (uncredited) * '' The One That ...

as Detective Sergeant Bradden *

Andrew Faulds Andrew Matthew William Faulds (1 March 1923 – 31 May 2000) was a British actor and Labour Party politician. After a successful acting career on stage, on radio and in films, he was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 1997. Early life Fauld ...

as Detective Inspector Carberry * William Peacock as Harry Parker *

Glyn Houston Glyn Houston (23 October 1925 – 30 June 2019) was a Welsh actor best known for his television work. He was the younger brother of film actor Donald Houston. Early life Glyndwr Desmond Houston was born at 10 Thomas Street, Tonypandy, Glamorgan ...

as Frank Moore *

Joan Rice Joan Rice (3 February 1930 – 1 January 1997) was an English film actress. Rice is best known for her role as Dalabo in the film '' His Majesty O'Keefe'' (1954) which co-starred Burt Lancaster. Apart from that she played Maid Marian in ''The ...

as Madge Moore *

Vanda Godsell Vanda Godsell (17 November 1922 – 2 April 1990) was an English actress. Hal Erickson writes in Allmovie, "Vanda Godsell specialised in playing disheveled housewives, busybody landladies and blowsy domestics." She appeared as Mrs Weaver in ...

as Doll *

Stanley Meadows Stanley Meadows (born 14 July 1931 in Stepney, London, England) is a British film and television actor. He graduated from RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservat ...

as Bowen * Brian McDermott as Brent * Hugh Morton as Mr John *

Keith Faulkner Keith Faulkner (born 25 July 1936) is a British-born Australian actor. Early life Faulkner was born in Richmond, Surrey. He started his career at Corona Academy at the age of eleven and moved on to a career in film and television in the late 195 ...

as Alf *

Bruce Beeby Bruce Edward Beeby (21 October 1921 – 20 October 2013) was an Australian actor who worked primarily in British films and television. He was probably best known for portraying Stephen "Mitch" Mitchell in the 1950s BBC radio serials '' Journ ...

as Worth *

Murray Evans Murray Charles Evans (June 23, 1919 – March 10, 2004) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Hardin–Simmons University from 1952 to 1954, compiling a record of 15–14–2. Evans died on March 10, 2 ...

as Billy *

Kevin Bennett Kevin "Bulldog" Bennett (born 15 August 1975, in Birmingham) is an English people, English professional lightweight, light/light welterweight, light welter/welterweight, welter/light middleweight Boxing, boxer of the 1990s and 2000s, who as an ...

as Archie Murdock *

Mary Laura Wood Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

as Mrs Murdock * Pauline Shepherd as Secretary *

Paddy Edwards Patrick Gervase Edwards (born 21 October 1965) is an English former first-class cricketer. Edwards was born at Bradford-on-Avon in October 1965. He later studied at Christ Church, Oxford where he played first-class cricket for Oxford Universi ...

as Beryl *

Meadows White A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetation, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring ...

as Strange *

Michael Barrington Michael Barrington (3 July 1924 – 5 June 1988) was a British actor best known for his television work. His best remembered role is as the ineffectual Governor Venables in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'' which featured Ronnie Barker in the lead ...

as Hay *

Anthony Bate Anthony Bate (31 August 1927 – 19 June 2012) was an English actor. He is possibly best known for his role as Oliver Lacon in the BBC television adaptations of the John le Carré novels ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' and ''Smiley's People'' and ...

as Detective (uncredited) *

Anita Sharp-Bolster Anita Sharp-Bolster (28 August 1895 – 1 June 1985) was an Irish-born American actress who appeared in 88 films and 12 TV series from 1928 to 1978. She was sometimes billed as Anita Bolster. Early life She was born 28 August 1895 in Glen ...

as Landlady (uncredited)

Production

The film's working title was ''I Promise to Pay''. Much of it was shot on location in and around

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

and

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, an unusual procedure at the time. Other scenes were shot in

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around eas ...

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is a ...

; after location work was complete, the film began studio shooting at

Beaconsfield Studios Beaconsfield Film Studios is a British television and film studio in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. The studios were operational as a production site for films in 1922, and continued producing films - and, later, TV shows - until the 1960s. Bri ...

on 10 October 1960. Michael Craig was loaned from Rank. Of Hayers he said "I think he'd learned 'directing' from a manual".

Release

The film opened at the Plaza cinema in London's West End on 20 April 1961, and went into general release in the UK on 21 May 1961.

Theme music

The theme music, by Reg Owen and His Orchestra, was issued as a single on the Palette label (PG.9013). The song "It Happens Every Day", sung in a nightclub scene in the film by Eddie Ellis, was composed by Tony Osborne and

Norman Newell Norman Newell (25 January 1919 – 1 December 2004) was an English record producer, who was mainly active in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also the songwriter, co-writer of many notable songs. As an A&R manager for EMI, he worked with musicians su ...

, and released as a single on the

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

label (R. 4749).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payroll (Film) 1961 films British crime thriller films Films set in Newcastle upon Tyne 1960s crime thriller films British heist films Films directed by Sidney Hayers Payroll 1960s English-language films 1960s British films