Martin Bradley Daryl Duke's "Payday" is a film that has barely seen the light of day, at least here in the UK. It came out in 1973, at a time when the American cinema was going through something of a renaissance and while it is far from being a classic and very rough around the edges it certainly didn't deserve its fate. Rip Torn is the thoroughly nasty, small-time country and western singer who will do whatever it takes to further his career and step on and over whoever gets in his way in the process. It's easy to see why the film wasn't a success. Apart from Torn, who makes the most of a mediocre script, it's poorly acted and has very much a B-Movie feel to it. However, it has built up something of a cult reputation probably stemming from the fact that it's been very little seen.

PimpinAinttEasy I'm not a big fan of RIP TORN. I like identifiable actors who play themselves and show me a bit of myself in their performances rather than ones who are a bit too real.TORN plays Maury Dan, a real mean SOB country music singer. He is the sort of character whom podcasters like bill burr and joe rogan discuss with thinly masked reverence. He is a molester, murderer, hard drinker and does not care about anyone but himself.Cliff Emmich is his loyal driver/bodyguard who is even willing to go to jail for a murder committed by maury.Elayne Heilveil and Ahna Capri play the groupies who fight over him when he is on the road. In a really mean spirited but funny scene, TORN throws out capri out of his car for fighting with elayne. Then the car drives away, stops suddenly, reverses and torn throws out a wad of cash at Capri. Then the car drives away, only to stop again, reverse and this time torn steps out and retrieves the money from the ground and tells Capri - you didn't earn it. the scene might have inspired a similar one in THE DEER HUNTER.Apart from being a character study, PAYDAY is also a great road movie. This is a solid film with great shots of the outdoors and some powerful scenes. I really did not see the ending coming. It was quite spectacular. I suspect TORN is not too different in real life, compared to the character he played in this movie (watch his fight with Norman Mailer on Youtube).DARYL DUKE, the director, also made the fantastic THE SILENT PARTNER.

brefane Before Crazy Heart, I Walk the Line, Tender Mercies, Coal Miner's Daughter, and Nashville there was Payday, a small, sharp, incisive film that's less commercial and less sentimental, but that has far greater impact. It's a road movie that chronicles the last 36 hours in the life of country western-singer Maury Dann as his life spins out of control and he takes refuge in the backseat of his chauffeur-driven Cadillac where most of the action takes place. Director Daryl Duke achieves an almost documentary type realism with authentic backgrounds and convincing performances from a well chosen supporting cast in which the late Ahna Capri as Dann's mistress, and Elayne Heilveil as an innocent groupie are memorable. But the film belongs to wild man Rip Torn who's at his peak as Maury Dann. Unfortunately, Payday is largely unknown because it was released sporadically over a period of several years. They just don't make 'em like they used to!

Miksa76 I saw this about 3 years ago - I got to admit I was slightly inebriated after a lot of alcohol, but still some of the scenes penetrated my mind clearly, with their pull-no-punches cynicism. Maury Dann (played by Rip Torn) was one of the most memorable crooks I've ever seen in film. This sombre character study from the 70's addresses the themes of power and using people, set in the world of country & western music. As Dann's world slowly but surely crumbles, we see glimpses of the past of this cynical singer star trying to hit it big and the bleak relationships around him.I agree with the previous writer, that the film is (sadly) largely unknown, despite a great script by the writer Don Carpenter and a staggering performance from Rip Torn.