PAYDAY no stars

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.