Paid (1930 film)
| Paid | |
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| Directed by | Sam Wood |
| Produced by | Sam Wood |
| Written by |
Adaptation: Lucien Hubbard Adaptation & Dialogue: Charles MacArthur |
| Based on | "Within the Law" (1912 play) by Bayard Veiller |
| Starring |
Joan Crawford Robert Armstrong Kent Douglass |
| Music by | Yellen & Ager |
| Cinematography | Charles Rosher |
| Edited by | Hugh Wynn |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $385,000 |
| Box office | $1,231,000 |
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".
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.
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.
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."
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.
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