Payroll Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Payroll Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 12, 2015

Sidney Hayers's "Payroll" a.k.a. "I Promised to Pay" (1961) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The only bonus feature on the disc is a short introduction by Professor Steve Chibnail De Montfort University in Leicester. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

It's time!

Their leader, Johnny (Michael Craig, Sea of Sand), is convinced that his plan will work, but they will need to trust him during the entire operation and follow his orders. It is the only way they will be able to walk away with the factory’s payroll and then leave Newcastle.

Before they go to work they follow the factory’s new armored van around the city and take notes. They want to make sure that even if there are minor surprises they will be able to finish the job. Later on, Dennis (William Lucas, The Break), who works in the factory, copies important security papers that allow them to pick the best location to attack the van.

Everything goes according to Johnny’s plan until one of the van’s guards is killed and another empties his rifle into Bert (Barry Keegan, The Wrong Arm of the Law). They manage to get away before the police arrive, but Bert loses a lot of blood and Johnny tells Blackie (Tom Bell, Prospero's Books) and Monty (Kenneth Griffith, A Night to Remember) that it would be foolish to try to save him.

While the police look for clues and try to figure out whether the robbers might have been assisted by someone with inside knowledge about the factory’s security operations, Dennis panics and his wife, Katie (Françoise Prévost, Paris nous appartient), realizes that he is somehow involved with Johnny’s men. Then she decides to take advantage of the situation and makes a surprising move. Around the same time, Jackie (Billie Whitelaw, Frenzy), the wife of the murdered guard, also makes a shocking discovery.

Sidney Hayers’ Payroll is a rather unusual film. It is obvious that it is fascinated by the mechanics of crime, but it has a strong dose of the social awareness that is present in many of the best kitchen sink dramas from the early ‘60s. The film also constantly redefines right and wrong without worrying about the feelings of its characters or the manner in which its message is received by the audience.

Even more unusual is the balance of power between the two sexes. In the first half all of the proactive characters are men with clear goals who demand respect -- the women simply react to their words without showing any desire to question their logic. After the robbery, however, the roles are largely reversed and the women become surprisingly aggressive. This shift in the balance of power between the two sexes is what gives the film its depth as it effectively redirects its narrative and then provides all of the crucial twists.

There is a whiff of noir stylization during some of the nighttime footage, but elsewhere the film clearly favors raw authenticity over effects and glamour. During the scouting and the quick robbery, in particular, the fluid framing creates the impression that one is viewing footage that might have been extracted from a documentary feature.

In an exclusive new video introduction recorded for this release, Steve Chibnail, Professor of British Cinema and Director of the Cinema and Television at De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, notes that the casting of Prévost was significant because it expanded the film’s targeted audience. Despite being a British production, Payroll was first released in France in 1961.

Payroll Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sidney Hayers' Payroll arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

The film has been recently restored in 2K and looks wonderful in high-definition. Depth, clarity, and fluidity are outstanding and there are no visible age-related imperfections. The daylight footage, in particular, looks terrific (see screencaptures #3 and 6), but the darker footage also boasts excellent shadow definition. The grain is evenly distributed and wonderfully resolved. Also, there are no traces of compromising sharpening adjustments. Rather predictably, from start to finish the film has a very solid organic appearance. The framing is good, but it is easy to tell that there should be slightly more information on the sides. There are no stability issues to report in our review. All in all, this is yet another very good restoration of a classic British film from the folks at StudioCanal, which almost certainly will remain its definitive presentation on the home video market. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Payroll Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I noticed some minor unevenness during two sequences -- see the footage immediately after the money is stolen -- but it appears that it is part of the film's original sound design. Clarity is always pleasing and there are no distortions in the high-frequencies. Also, there are no pops or audio dropouts to report in our review.

Payroll Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction - Steve Chibnail, Professor of British Cinema and Director of the Cinema and Television Research Centre at De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, quickly introduces Payroll and comments on some its unique qualities. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

Payroll Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sidney Hayers' Payroll is a tough British crime film whose social awareness and cynicism very much remind of the great kitchen-sink dramas from the early '60s. This should not be too surprising, however, as it was completed only a year after Karel Reisz's groundbreaking directorial debut Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. The film is available on Blu-ray via StudioCanal, who restored it in 2K and added it to their Vintage Classics series. Hopefully, we will soon see an equally impressive release of Val Guest's Hell Is a City. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.