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The greatest movie ever made..!

Simply A Masterpiece

Lack of good storyline.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Shot largely on location in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Sidney Hayers' "Payroll" is a remarkably good British heist movie dealing, not just with a robbery, but with dishonour amongst thieves. It's not quite "The Asphalt Jungle" or "Rififi" but it's an outstanding example of its kind with a first-rate script by George Baxt, excellent cinematography from Ernest Steward and sterling direction from Hayers. It's also got a great cast that includes Michael Craig, Tom Bell, Billie Whitelaw (superb), Kenneth Griffith and the French actress Francoise Prevost while the robbery itself is brilliantly handled, if only by the film-makers and not the robbers. Something of a small genre classic.

This is a many-layered story and it's this which keeps it riveting for the audience. Johnny Mellors (Craig) is a career criminal. He likes to have all the facts before hitting his mark. The biggest mark of his career is the payroll of a large factory, over one-hundred-thousand pounds. Unfortunately, on the day of the hit a couple of motorcycle police ride up just as they are about to put their plan into action. Then to make matters worse, their inside man, Dennis Pearson (Lucas), informs them of the companies decision to employ an armoured car for the wage run. Unable to turn down such a big score Mellors and his men start to stake out the armoured car...This is only the beginning, some writers and directors would make a movie just about the heist. Though, what Baxt and Hayers give the viewers is the aftermath of the heist itself. So we have the police, chasing after the criminals, though evidence and clues are running thin. A wife, hellbent on revenge. Another wife, cunningly trying to get the better of every man in her life, who she pities, hates, and doesn't trust,.. just to get the money. A man who cannot handle guilt and mentally breaks down. All of these characters are well rounded and written.The good thing is that the actors are brilliant in their roles and bring them to life. Craig is believable as the leader of the gang. This guy is methodical and cool. Though if you get on the wrong side of him he will break you in two... without blinking. Whitelaw is one of the strongest in the cast. When she sets out on her mission of revenge the look on her face says it all. This woman is a juggernaut with a one-track mind and will not stop until she has her revenge. Francoise Prevost has an air of a clever and cunning woman. Always thinking, always planning, who will do anything to better her life... but can she be more wily or slick as Mellors? And, William Lucas does scared, anxious, and frightened magnificently.But there's still more. Director, Hayers, is great in his field. There are plenty of interesting camera shots, angles, and iconic photography. All of which add power to the film. To be honest, this is a masterpiece in modern film noir, though it's old now as it was filmed in 1961 - it is still a great watch.Now, I'm not a great jazz fan but the soundtrack to the movie is outstanding and used to it's fullest potential. It has the power to pull the viewer in and make them feel the excitement and tension of a scene. I was surprised by how much I liked this element of the movie.I would recommend this to everyone.

...coupled with splendid performances from Mr K.Grifith and Mr T.Bell take attention away from an appallingly miscast lead and the somewhat clichéd storyline. This is 1961.The head villain has a Hillman Minx. He is posh. But ruthless mind you. He plans a Wages Robbery(the crime du jour in 1961)but it all goes pear - shaped when a guard is shot and all the robbers face being hanged,that being the penalty for "murder in the furtherance of theft" at that time. The gang falls out,unsurprisingly. Mr K.Griffith dies miserably in a dark alley.(ditto). Just previously he has been thrown out of a pub after being involved in a brawl that is brilliantly realistic in that it is brief and all the offenders are ejected rather brutally by the regulars. That's how it was in 1961 - nobody is shot or glassed,no acid is thrown,just a few dozen punches. The femme fatale(French,bien sur)double crosses the gang leader and is in turn double - crossed. When the police rather belatedly arrive they are wearing trench macs and Homburgs.Surely time was about to be called on such attire. Vastly - experienced director Mr S Hayers does miracles with such potentially slim pickings. When people started to get paid by cheque the whole Wages Blag industry was re - invented as Having One Across The Pavement and cash deliveries to banks became the target. Eventually the Old Bill got fed up and started shooting a few Faces and low - risk crimes like drugs began to proliferate. "Payroll" is a film that - in effect - records the beginning of the end for little Firms who would do "one big job" and the beginning of the Big Firms who were run by men with plans. Personally I suspect all the gang shown in this film would be quickly shown the door by dear old Reg and Ron.

Payroll is directed by Sidney Hayers and adapted to screenplay by George Baxt from the novel written by Derek Bickerton. It stars Michael Craig, Françoise Prévost, Billie Whitelaw, William Lucas, Kenneth Griffith, Tom Bell and Barry Keegan. Music is by Reg Owen and cinematography by Ernest Steward. A vicious gang of crooks raid an armoured van carrying the wages of the local factory. When all doesn't go to plan and the driver of the van is killed, the gang start to come apart from within, just as the police and a vengeful widow close in on them... As tough as old boots! Out of Beaconsfield Studios, Payroll is the kind of British neo-noir that is adored by those that have seen it and yet it still remains a sleeper. Set up in the North East of England in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, there's a real sense of working class struggle pulsing through the picture. The character dynamics at work are nothing new in the history of the heist gone wrong movie, but the makers here insert two ladies into the equation and let them be prominent antagonists, and with some conviction as well. Time is afforded build up of characters, letting us into home lives and the planning of the crime, and then bam! It's the robbery and it pulls no punches. Story is not without violence, and murders are coldly executed, and as the band of thieves begin to crack, led by ice cold scumbag Johnny Mellors (Craig), director Hayers puts them into a world of grim alleyways, terrace houses, back street pubs, sweat stained garages, marshy bogs and an imposing dockside ripe for a denouement. The mood is firmly set at fatalistic realism, and as Hayers tightens the noose around the dwindling gang of thieves, and Reg Owen's jazzy score flits around the drama (love that ominous double bass), we are led to a wholly satisfactory conclusion. Cast are great, especially the wonderful Whitelaw, and Steward's photography is crisp and on the money. 8/10 Footnote: Some scenes were filmed in Rugby, Warwickshire, so it's not exclusively on location in Newcastle. And of course as any Geordie will tell you, there's a distinct lack of Geordie accents in the picture.