Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

kidboots I thought this was a pretty nifty drama - almost like a feature length "Crime Does Not Pay" entry. "Crime Does Not Pay" was a MGM short subject series that kicked off in 1935 with "Buried Loot". It was a series that not only tried to keep youth on the straight and narrow (the series started when America was in the midst of the "Public Enemy" era) it also gave starts to future Hollywood stars ie Robert Taylor in "Buried Loot".The city is going through the worst heat wave in years and Eddie Lang (Chester Morris), who is counting on his bonus coming through in a couple of weeks, goes to his manager for a $50 loan. He wants to take his family away from the city heat but his boss says no!! He is finally tipped off about a loan company who will be pleased to give him the money - all he has to sign is a "I Promise to Pay" slip. He takes his family on a great holiday, but of course, when he returns, there is no bonus. He is now in the clutches of loan sharks who insist on repayments of $10 a week. He goes to the police but not before he makes the mistake of confiding to his friend, Al, who in reality works for the loan sharks. Ed steals from petty cash and is sacked from his job. The family can't escape from the vicious punks - even in a new town, with a new job, Eddie is tracked down and severely beaten.Chester Morris had the ability to lift up whatever film he was in - even a programmer like this, and give it a touch of class. His finest moment is when he is making his impassioned speech to the "little guys" - all the victims of loan sharks, who have been too afraid to come forward. Interestingly Henry Brandon, who played the educated foreman and victim of the "Black Legion", in this movie was on the wrong side of the law playing one of Farra's henchmen - "Fancyface". The one person who didn't ring true was Leo Carrillo as loan shark kingpin Farra - his giggling didn't really instill fear - it made me think he must have yearned to be in a comedy. Marc Lawrence more than made up for Carrillo's shortcomings. Was there ever a badder bad guy than Lawrence - here he played a very evil henchman, "Whitehat", who wants to take little Judy and her brother "for a ride". Helen Mack was also excellent as Eddie's helpful wife.Highly, Highly Recommended.

MartinHafer The film begins with Chester Morris trying to get an advance from his boss. However, the boss tells him that it's against company policy to do this. Instead of waiting a few weeks for his anticipated bonus, Morris borrow the money from a loan shark!! Then, seeing him throwing away this money uselessly tells you he is playing a giant idiot! When this bonus does NOT materialize, he cannot pay back his debt on time--a very bad idea when dealing with this sorts of people. And, to top it off, he continues to make one stupid decision after another! Despite the writer making Morris just a bit too dim, where the film goes next is very exciting, as the gang starts to put the squeeze on Morris...and his family. This makes for a very tense and interesting film--and improves as the film progresses. The writing, action and direction all improve as the film progresses--making it better than the average B-movie. Well worth seeing.

samhill5215 I think I watched this film for Helen Mack. I had just seen her in "Girls of the Road" and her performance stood out in that mediocre attempt. What struck me was the chemistry between her and her co-star, Chester Morris. Their portrayal of a married couple still in love after eight years was so genuine I felt drawn in to their lives, felt their misery and disappointments, and sympathized with the gut wrenching decisions they had to make on a daily basis regarding the basic necessities of life. Yet in spite of their hard lives, or perhaps because of them, they stayed devoted to each other and very much connected. Whenever they were on screen the chemistry between them was unmistakable. They made me believe they really loved each other and that's what I found unusual. The rest of the movie is OK. Leo Carillo is a standout as the loan shark but the plot follows a more or less predictable path to a predictable ending. If it weren't for the scenes with Mack and Morris it would be entirely forgettable.

boblipton In the 1930s if you wanted am exciting drama that exposed a social ill, you thought of Warner Brothers. Columbia tried its hand at several, but usually they turned into routine programmers, clearly derivative and often too polite to show the grime. This movie, aimed at the loan sharks, makes a good effort at discussing the problem centering around the usual facile performance of Chester Morris, giving a little-guy performance that, as usual, slides between smart-alec humor and straightforward, believable emotion. Thomas Mitchell moves through his small but key role with his typical excellence. Leo Carillo is little short of great as the head of the loan sharking syndicate. Marc Lawrence also gets a terrifying few moments as he tries to kidnap a child.For the first forty-five minutes I PROMISE TO PAY shifts uneasily between domestic comedy and office oppression. While some of this is, indeed, necessary to flesh out the story, it goes on too long. It may take the casual movie-goer an effort to sit still until the movie takes off; even then the good part lasts only twenty minutes until it moves back into workaday movie-making. Even so, that's far more than most.