When Rip Torn passed away, several film critics and publications would talk about his performance in the forgotten film, Payday (1972). Once you see it (and so far, the full thing is available to watch on YouTube), you won’t forget Torn’s performance as country singer Maury Dann, an unrelenting prick. Opening with him and his band performing at a bar for the nice folks out there, the rest of the film sticks with Dann and his entourage including his current girlfriend (Ahni Capri) and fastidious tour manager (Michael C. Gwynne) as they hit the road, travelling to the next engagement. While a popular star with the people, indulging them with his “good ole boy” persona, the film bitterly shows the ways that Dann uses and abuses people, his band members, the fans he comes into contact with, his ex-wife, his personal driver, only really caring about the titular transaction, the payday (that, and booze, drugs and sex). Shot on location in Alabama (with a realistic faces in the supporting cast and the extras), written by Don Carpenter and directed by Don Davis (who also directed the Elliott Gould thriller, The Silent Partner), this almost keeps daring the audience by escalating every evil the protagonist inflicts in his whirlwind tour. Rip Torn’s shark-tooth smile makes Maury Dann a compellingly watchable character, and his performance grounds him from being simply being one note, offering a rounded portrait of capitalistic restlessness and toxic rage. In support, Jeff Morris (from The Blues Brothers) is great as one of the band and Elayne Heilveil as a young girl who is swept up in the road tour lifestyle. Recommended.
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