Paid (1930 film)
6 /10 1 Votes
Language English | 5.8/10 IMDb Duration Country United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date December 30, 1930 (1930-12-30) |
Paid is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film starring Joan Crawford, Robert Armstrong, and Kent Douglass in a story about a wrongly accused ex-convict who seeks revenge on those who sent her to prison using a scam called the "Heart Balm Racket".
Contents

The film was adapted by Lucien Hubbard and Charles MacArthur from the play, Within the Law by Bayard Veiller (1912) and was the fourth film version of the play. The film was directed and produced by Sam Wood.

Plot and cast

Unjustly sent to prison, Mary Turner (Joan Crawford) plots revenge upon those who sent her there - district attorney Demarest (Hale Hamilton) and Edward Gilder (Purnell Pratt). Once released she meets Joe Garson (Armstrong), an experienced crook, and together they concoct a breach of promise scam to be perpetrated upon the well-heeled elderly. In an ambitious step, Mary weds her enemy's son Bob Gilder (Douglass Montgomery). At the end, she has come to terms with her past and seeks peace of mind rather than revenge. A subplot involves a police-thwarted heist of a painting and the capture of Mary's comrade-in-crime Joe Garson (Robert Armstrong). Cast includes Marie Prevost and Polly Moran as Mary's fellow prison inmates.
Cast

Reception

Photoplay commented, "The story is absorbing and Joan is simply grand!" The New York Times noted, "Miss Crawford and Miss Prevost are very good in their roles."
Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $920,000 in the US and Canada and $311,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $415,000.
Adaptations
Paid was remade in Bollywood as the film Intaqam starring Sadhana.
References
Paid (1930 film) WikipediaPaid (1930 film) IMDb Paid (1930 film) themoviedb.org