Payment on Demand
Encyclopedia
Payment on Demand is a 1951
drama film
directed by Curtis Bernhardt
. The screenplay
by Bernhardt and Bruce Manning chronicles a marriage from its idealistic early days to its dissolution.
Joyce Ramsey expresses concern about the working class background of her daughter Martha's boyfriend Phil, and her husband David, tired of his opportunistic wife's social ambitions, asks her for a divorce
and moves out, prompting her to look back on their marriage.
Via a flashback
, we learn about the couple's humble beginnings and discover how they worked their way into the world of the nouveau riche
. David is a Santa Rosa
attorney
with no clients, working on construction jobs with his law partner Robert Townsend to support his bride, who serves as the struggling firm's secretary. Finding herself pregnant, Joyce schemes to land Swanson, a former factory worker with a valuable steel-making patent, as a client. She succeeds at getting him to hire David alone, and when her plot eventually is discovered, Robert quits. David is furious with his wife, but she placates him by convincing him her sole intent was to help him and their unborn child.
Back in the present, Joyce is forced to admit to her daughters their father has left her when a society columnist questions his move. She learns from a friend David has been seen with another woman and hires a private detective to investigate.
Another flashback, and David, now an executive in Swanson's company, announces he has been transferred to San Francisco but wants to live in the suburbs. Joyce, longing for the excitement of city living, changes his mind. Eventually she meets Emily Hedges, and the two, bonded by their social-climbing aspirations, become close friends. Robert Townsend, in desperate need of $15,000, arrives at the Ramsey home to request a loan, and Joyce tells him David is away on business and she is unable to help him. Her husband learns of her lie and comes to his former partner's aid, accusing Joyce of being callous.
A return to the present, where David and girl friend Eileen Benson, alone in his apartment, are discovered by the detective Joyce hired. She proceeds to demand all of David's assets during the divorce hearings, and he agrees. While on a Caribbean
cruise
, Joyce meets Englishman Anthony Tunliffe. During a stop in Port-au-Prince
, the two visit the now-divorced, deluded, and alcoholic Emily living with a gigolo
, and she expresses concern for Joyce's future. When Joyce learns Anthony is married and looking for nothing more than an extramarital affair, she leaves the ship and returns home.
At Martha and Phil's wedding, Joyce and David meet. When he takes her home, he suggests they start anew. Joyce hesitates, wanting to be certain he loves rather than pities her, before committing herself to a reconciliation.
.
The original script left no doubt about the couple's future. The final scene depicted a reunited Joyce and David at the breakfast table, with the woman engaging in her familiar social-climbing talk. It was clear she was still an overly ambitious wife determined to dominate her husband and steer his career path. RKO executive Howard Hughes
, unhappy with the ending and the title, called the director and the two leads into the studio only two days before the film was scheduled to open at Radio City Music Hall
in New York City
and had them shoot his revision to the script, which he had rechristened Payment on Demand. The scene was processed, spliced into the final reel, and shipped on a Hughes-owned TWA
aircraft, arriving at the theatre after the film already had begun under its original title. The projectionist
had just enough time to thread his machine with the new final reel. Bette Davis later said, "The new ending broke our hearts. The one we had shot was the true ending for our film. We also were brokenhearted over the title change."
said, "Miss Davis performs most capably, achieving a surface appearance of feminine churlishness that might almost be real. Likewise, the luscious surroundings in which RKO has arranged for her to perform have, at least, the beguiling intimations of unlimited wealth and taste. But, unfortunately, the script by Bruce Manning and Curtis Bernhardt includes everything but a simple and convincing demonstration of the reasons why a marriage hasn't clicked . . . this domestic drama, which Mr. Bernhardt has staged, is entirely a vehicle for Miss Davis to pull with a firm theatrical grip across the screen."
Variety
said the film "makes a point of avoiding the pitfalls of soap opera
fiction in which emotional and physical crises are developed in rapid succession.
Bette Davis is in top form. Her interpretation . . . has great believability . . . Barry Sullivan handles [his role] neatly and with a quiet dignity."
TV Guide
rates it three out of a possible four stars and adds, "Bypassing all the usual soapy stuff, this film offers an adult look at some of the reasons why people part company . . . An honest story with good acting and direction, [it] moves over familiar ground, but laughs are in very short supply here and would have helped considerably."
1951 in film
The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Curtis Bernhardt
Curtis Bernhardt
Curtis Bernhardt was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. Some of his American films were called "woman's films" including the Joan Crawford film Possessed . Bernhardt trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film...
. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Bernhardt and Bruce Manning chronicles a marriage from its idealistic early days to its dissolution.
Plot synopsis
In the opening scene, San Francisco socialiteSocialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
Joyce Ramsey expresses concern about the working class background of her daughter Martha's boyfriend Phil, and her husband David, tired of his opportunistic wife's social ambitions, asks her for a divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
and moves out, prompting her to look back on their marriage.
Via a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
, we learn about the couple's humble beginnings and discover how they worked their way into the world of the nouveau riche
Nouveau riche
The nouveau riche , or new money, comprise those who have acquired considerable wealth within their own generation...
. David is a Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
with no clients, working on construction jobs with his law partner Robert Townsend to support his bride, who serves as the struggling firm's secretary. Finding herself pregnant, Joyce schemes to land Swanson, a former factory worker with a valuable steel-making patent, as a client. She succeeds at getting him to hire David alone, and when her plot eventually is discovered, Robert quits. David is furious with his wife, but she placates him by convincing him her sole intent was to help him and their unborn child.
Back in the present, Joyce is forced to admit to her daughters their father has left her when a society columnist questions his move. She learns from a friend David has been seen with another woman and hires a private detective to investigate.
Another flashback, and David, now an executive in Swanson's company, announces he has been transferred to San Francisco but wants to live in the suburbs. Joyce, longing for the excitement of city living, changes his mind. Eventually she meets Emily Hedges, and the two, bonded by their social-climbing aspirations, become close friends. Robert Townsend, in desperate need of $15,000, arrives at the Ramsey home to request a loan, and Joyce tells him David is away on business and she is unable to help him. Her husband learns of her lie and comes to his former partner's aid, accusing Joyce of being callous.
A return to the present, where David and girl friend Eileen Benson, alone in his apartment, are discovered by the detective Joyce hired. She proceeds to demand all of David's assets during the divorce hearings, and he agrees. While on a Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
cruise
Cruising (maritime)
Cruising by boat is a lifestyle that involves living for extended time on a boat while traveling from place to place for pleasure. Cruising generally refers to trips of a few days or more, and can extend to round-the-world voyages.- History :...
, Joyce meets Englishman Anthony Tunliffe. During a stop in Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
, the two visit the now-divorced, deluded, and alcoholic Emily living with a gigolo
Gigolo
Gigolo may refer to:* A male prostitute, escort, or dancer, who offers services to women* Gigolo , a 2006 single by Helena Paparizou* Gigolo , a 2003 single by Nick Cannon...
, and she expresses concern for Joyce's future. When Joyce learns Anthony is married and looking for nothing more than an extramarital affair, she leaves the ship and returns home.
At Martha and Phil's wedding, Joyce and David meet. When he takes her home, he suggests they start anew. Joyce hesitates, wanting to be certain he loves rather than pities her, before committing herself to a reconciliation.
Production notes
The film's original title was The Story of a Divorce. It was made in 1949 but was not released until two years later, following the success of All About EveAll About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
.
The original script left no doubt about the couple's future. The final scene depicted a reunited Joyce and David at the breakfast table, with the woman engaging in her familiar social-climbing talk. It was clear she was still an overly ambitious wife determined to dominate her husband and steer his career path. RKO executive Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
, unhappy with the ending and the title, called the director and the two leads into the studio only two days before the film was scheduled to open at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and had them shoot his revision to the script, which he had rechristened Payment on Demand. The scene was processed, spliced into the final reel, and shipped on a Hughes-owned TWA
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...
aircraft, arriving at the theatre after the film already had begun under its original title. The projectionist
Projectionist
A Projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector. In the strict sense of the term this means any movie projector and therefore could include someone who operates the projector in a home video show or school. In common usage the term is generally understood to describe a paid employee of...
had just enough time to thread his machine with the new final reel. Bette Davis later said, "The new ending broke our hearts. The one we had shot was the true ending for our film. We also were brokenhearted over the title change."
Principal cast
- Bette DavisBette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
..... Joyce Ramsey - Barry SullivanBarry Sullivan (actor)Barry Sullivan was an American movie actor who appeared in over 100 movies from the 1930s to the 1980s.Born in New York City, Sullivan fell into acting when in college playing semi-pro football...
..... David Ramsey - Kent TaylorKent TaylorKent Taylor was an American actor.Born Louis William Weiss in Nashua, Iowa, Taylor appeared in more than 110 films, the bulk of them B-movies in the 1930s and 1940s, although he also had roles in more prestigious studio releases, including I'm No Angel , Death Takes a Holiday , Payment on Demand ,...
..... Robert Townsend - Walter Sande ..... Swanson
- Jane CowlJane CowlJane Cowl was an American film and stage actress and playwright "notorious for playing lacrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named in Cowl's honor.-Biography:...
..... Emily Hedges - Frances DeeFrances DeeFrances Marion Dee was an American actress. She starred opposite Maurice Chevalier in the early talkie musical, The Playboy of Paris...
..... Eileen Benson - John Sutton ..... Anthony Tunliffe
- Betty LynnBetty LynnBetty Lynn is an American actress. She is best known for playing Thelma Lou in The Andy Griffith Show.-Career:...
..... Martha Ramsey - Brett King ..... Phil Polanski
Critical reception
In his review in the New York Times, Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
said, "Miss Davis performs most capably, achieving a surface appearance of feminine churlishness that might almost be real. Likewise, the luscious surroundings in which RKO has arranged for her to perform have, at least, the beguiling intimations of unlimited wealth and taste. But, unfortunately, the script by Bruce Manning and Curtis Bernhardt includes everything but a simple and convincing demonstration of the reasons why a marriage hasn't clicked . . . this domestic drama, which Mr. Bernhardt has staged, is entirely a vehicle for Miss Davis to pull with a firm theatrical grip across the screen."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
said the film "makes a point of avoiding the pitfalls of soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
fiction in which emotional and physical crises are developed in rapid succession.
Bette Davis is in top form. Her interpretation . . . has great believability . . . Barry Sullivan handles [his role] neatly and with a quiet dignity."
TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
rates it three out of a possible four stars and adds, "Bypassing all the usual soapy stuff, this film offers an adult look at some of the reasons why people part company . . . An honest story with good acting and direction, [it] moves over familiar ground, but laughs are in very short supply here and would have helped considerably."