Payroll (1962)

That was an excellent one.

good back-story, and good acting

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

They don't make them as good as this any more! It has all the ingredients of a first class crime film - good plot - great actors and moves at a fast pace with never a dull moment.

I agree that this story is not so unusual. Robbery, revenge...But the acting, directing and everything in this crime drama are outstanding. You are glued to this film, and the armored truck robbery is one of the most impressive, brutal, among all those I have ever seen; let me tell you that I am a heist movie specialist, and not only the greatest ones, even the most underrated from all over the world are in my huge collection. This attack sequence is very brutal, especially for this period. This crime flick is typical from those late fifties and early sixties movies from UK. See for instance the grade B features made by Danzingers or Butchers Productions; with nearly always those likes of William Lukas in most of them, the equivalent, for those years, of today Ray Winstone or Bill Murray - not the American one. The Butchers or Danzingers Brothers studios gave us such items, but with a length time much shorter. One of the best gangsters movies from UK ever made, for this time, and even of all time. But unfortunately not the best known, and that makes no difference for me.

Payroll is a British crime flick based on a novel by Derek Bickerton, and it is the story of a heist and its effects on all the people involved. What surprised me most is the fact that the film is so obscure! How come so few people have seen this? It's suave, sophisticated and entertaining; and it also has a great director in Sidney Hayers. It's certainly a film in need of urgent rediscovery! The film differs from many other films in its class because it focuses on the planning of the crime, the crime itself and then the effects it has on many people involved with it. The main character is Johnny Mellors; a streetwise criminal who is planning to rob the payroll of a factory. However, his plans are thrown into disarray when the firm hires a new company to guard the payroll; complete with an armoured van. The crooks decide to proceed with the crime anyway, and put a meticulous plan together to snatch the loot. However, things don't go exactly according to plan which has repercussions for everyone involved.The plotting of this film is very good and director Sidney Hayers keeps it flowing well at all times by providing a constant stream of action. The characters presented are all interesting in their own right and the interactions between the various members of the gang are good. Things are kicked up a notch by the involvement of other parties too; as well as the central criminals, we also focus on their inside man, the police and the widow of a man killed during the robbery who is out for her own revenge. The style of the film is very sixties and feels very cool throughout, which is a big bonus to the film and gives it a real slick edge. Things remain entertaining throughout and things are left open enough to ensure that we never really know where it's going to go; by the time the ending comes, there's still several possible ways for it all to end and the ending itself is made up of many twists and turns. Again I have to reiterate my surprise at the obscurity of this film - it's certainly good enough to have a bigger following and I would certainly recommend it to anyone that considers themselves a fan of crime thrillers!

This has just been released on DVD by Optimum in a very clear print.I first saw it on its original release at the ABC Golders Green on 28th May 1961,sitting in the circle for which i paid the price of 4/-(20p).My view at the time was that it was an excellent thriller.I still find it to be very entertaining but i do have a couple of complaints.Despite being set in Newcastle there is not one character or even bit part player who has a Geordie accent.We have all sorts of other "foreign" accents from Michael Craigs Rada accent,to Kenneth Griffiths welsh and Francoise Orevost and her french accent.What on earth was she doing in this film,she was not a big name in this country the only answer was that she must have been a close friend of the producer!The film is fine till it gets to the last 20 minutes.Quite frankly it is so implausible that it ruins what has gone before.I felt that the writers had just run out of ideas how to end this film.Also it has to be said that Michael Craig is good as a light comedian but a serious actor he ain't.