''The Devil to Pay!'' is a 1930 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

romantic drama film directed by

George Fitzmaurice George Fitzmaurice (13 February 1885 – 13 June 1940) was a French-born film director and Film producer, producer. Career Fitzmaurice's career first started as a set designer on stage. Beginning in 1914, and continuing until his death in 1940 ...

and starring

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...

Frederick Kerr Frederick Kerr (born Frederick Grinham Keen, 11 October 1858 – 3 May 1933) was an English actor who appeared on stage in both London and New York and in British and American films; he also worked as a major theatrical manager in London. Early ...

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. As a performer, she was known for her ability to adapt to her screen partner's acting style. Born in Helena, Monta ...

and

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

. It was written by

Frederick Lonsdale Frederick Lonsdale (5 February 1881 – 4 April 1954) was a British playwright known for his librettos to several successful musicals early in the 20th century, including '' King of Cadonia'' (1908), '' The Balkan Princess'' (1910), '' Betty'' ...

and

Benjamin Glazer Benjamin F. Glazer (May 7, 1887 – March 18, 1956) was a screenwriter, producer, Foley artist, and director of American films from the 1920s through the 1950s. He made the first translation of author / playwright Ferenc Molnár's play '' Li ...

Plot

After selling his house and belongings in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

, Willie Hale returns home to England, where he buys a dog with most of his remaining money. Lord Leeland, his wealthy father, is frustrated with Willie's many failed ventures but gives him £100 in spending money. After seeing his old girlfriend, theatre star Mary Crayle, Willie meets family friend and heiress Dorothy Hope. He takes Dorothy and his sister Susan to the Derby, where he wins a great deal of money on a 50-to-1 longshot. Dorothy then breaks her engagement to Grand Duke Paul because she finds the bankrupt Willie far more charming. Willie is reluctant to become romantically involved with Dorothy, but when her father insists that he will disinherit her if she marries Willie, he proposes to her. She accepts, but only if he will promise to never see Mary again. Willie is unable to deliver the news to Mary by letter or telephone, so he waits for her outside the theater. At her home, he is finally able to tell her about his engagement. Mr. Hope hires a detective agency to watch Willie. He has Dorothy call Mary on the telephone, and when Willie answers, Dorothy is heartbroken. When Willie tries to explain, Dorothy pays him £5,000, assuming that he had been merely seeking her inheritance. She is astonished when he leaves with the check, whistling. However, Willie does not intend to keep the money. After he hears that Paul is destitute, he sends the money to him under Dorothy's name. Paul sends a note to Dorothy to thank her, which delights Dorothy and disillusions her father. Dorothy and Willie reconcile before he sails for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

to start a sheep farm. Dorothy's father offers to buy Willie a farm in England, and Lord Leeland is happy to hear that it will be Mr. Hope whose money will be lost if Willie fails in yet another business venture.

Cast

as Willie Hale *

as Lord Leland *

as Dorothy Hope * David Torrence as Mr. Hope *Florence Britton as Susan Hale *

as Mary Crayle *

Paul Cavanagh William Grigs Atkinson (8 December 1888 – 15 March 1964), known professionally as Paul Cavanagh, was an English film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1928 and 1959. Life and career Cavanagh was born in Felling ...

as Grand Duke Paul *

Crauford Kent Crauford Kent (12 October 1881 – 14 May 1953) was an English character actor based in the United States. He has also been credited as Craufurd Kent

as Arthur

Production

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; ; July 1879 (most likely; claimed to be August 27, 1882) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produce ...

recruited playwright

to write a story after meeting him on a visit to

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 ...

. Goldwyn considered the film an ideal vehicle for Colman to follow his success in his previous film, ''

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who ...

'' (1929).

Constance Cummings Constance Cummings CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-British actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Cummings was born on 15 May 1910 in Seattle, Washington, the only daughter and younger child of Kate ...

was originally cast in the female lead but was replaced because her American accent was too strong for the British setting. Goldwyn also replaced original director

Irving Cummings Irving Cummings (October 9, 1888 – April 18, 1959) was an American movie actor and director. Career Born in New York City, Cummings started his acting career at age 16 in ''Diplomacy (play), Diplomacy''. His Broadway theatre, Broadway, p ...

after two weeks because he was unhappy with the standard of production.Berg p.193-194

References

Bibliography

* Berg, A. Scott ''Goldwyn: A Biography''. Pan Books, 1999.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Devil To Pay!, The 1930 films 1930 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films Films directed by George Fitzmaurice Films set in England Films set in London Samuel Goldwyn Productions films United Artists films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language romantic drama films Films scored by Alfred Newman