Simon Bermuda

Just wondered if anyone else here is familiar with LIVE NOW, PAY LATER (1962), an obscure and neglected B&W gem that few people seem to have heard of. Written by Jack Trevor Story, it beautifully captures that never-had-it-so-good era when hire-purchase brought the latest mod cons within reach of the masses.

Ian Hendry gives a terrific performance as fast-talking door-to-door salesman Albert Argyle, who tours housing estates flogging dodgy merchandise to gullible housewives, some of whom prefer to pay off their instalments in the bedroom. There are also great turns from John Gregson as Albert's sleazy boss, not to mention Liz Carry On Fraser, Geoffrey Keen, Peter Butterworth, Nyree Dawn Porter and a young Peter Bowles, plus a risque (for the time) bath scene with June Ritchie of A Kind Of Loving fame.

I have a treasured VHS copy of an old Beta recording from Channel 4, shown at least a dozen years ago. To the best of my knowledge, the film hasn't been shown again since. Still waiting for it to turn up in the schedules so I can get a better-quality copy. Ideally, though, this seemingly forgotten minor classic should be brought out on DVD.

There's a great Jack Trevor Story website with more info and stills. For anyone who's interested, see: Live Now, Pay Later

Jim

here here (or is it hear hear?) i could not agree more simon.

Good morning boys.

Lord Brett

The only thing I can add is that the main reason that Honor Blackman was cast in The Avengers was that the first season, starring Ian Hendry, was curtailed by a strike.

By the time it returned for a new season, Hendry had been tempted to stray by a nice big Rank contract (starting, I believe, with Live Now, Pay Later.

The producers still had some unfilmed Hendry scripts left over, but Patrick Macnee had the bright idea of casting a woman in the role. The producers agreed, and thus was born television's first emancipated woman!

One hears some terrible stories about Hendry's drinking problem, but he was obviously regarded with some fondness in the industry, as producers fully aware of his problems (and, letterly, his shocking appearance) still employed him right up to his death.

smudge

I agree - this is an under-rated little treasure and deserves to b shown again as soon as possible. I think I have the same showing that Simon mentioned on VHS too.

It's great to see John Gregson cast against type as a slightly more seedy and self-serving gaffer in this one. He must have relished a change from all of those stolid salt-of-the-earth types he often got cast as.

IIRC he too could put away the odd bevy or two (?) - must have been a good off set atmosphere if the lads went for a drink after a hard day's filming !

Hendry was an absolutely cracking actor - no two ways about it. Like Wilf Lawson, that other infamous tippler, he might have liked his bevvies, but once he walked onto that screen, he was sheer PRESCENCE !! One of my fave later portrayals of his was his 'comeback' as Gunner in the first episode of THE NEW AVENGERS - a nice touch, nicely done and brilliantly played...

Footnote to LIVE NOW...I can never get over the chubby version of Peter Bowles. Does he look like a raw prawn or what ?

Whoever would have thought from that that he would carve himself a niche as gentleman sophisticates ?

Saw him in the revival of WAIT UNTIL DARK last year...OUCH ! sleep

SMUDGE

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

Hackett

Ian Hendry was always worth the money even in crap and he appeared in some crap. His best performance for me was as Staff Sargent Williams in "THE HILL" 1965. Was it "THE BEAUTY JUNGLE" 1965 or "LIVE NOW PAY LATER" that evey time he jumps out of his car he pulls up the handbreak in one movement?. This works up to the end of the film until he jumps out with the handbreak still in his grasp and the car keeps going.

smudge

Must be BEAUTY JUNGLE Hackett, as I don't recall that from LNPL...hopefully I'll find out soon as I am getting a copy of BJ.

I wholly agree, no matter what, Hendry was the man to watch!

SMUDGE

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

The_Late_Peter_Cook

I agree. I must have seen the same showing (though sadly I never taped it) and I have good memories of it. Around the same time (I think) I managed to catch another hendry-Ritchie movie, THIS IS MY STREET which should also get the DVD treatment (what a great double bill they would make!)

MikeC

I am also interested in the film LIVE NOW, PAY LATER.
Part of it was filmed in Wealdstone High Street at Grant Road School which was an annex for Whitefriars School. I attended both of these schools.
They used the playground as a used car sales lot.
The school was located in the High Street on the corner of Grant Road, hence the name. On the other corner was a furniture shop called Porters and they used part of this also..
Mike

Marky B

Was Tom Adams in this film,as a boyfriend of one of the girls Ian Hendry makes off with?
Ta Ta
Marky B

I once shot an elephant in my pyjamas - how he got in my pyjamas,I'll never know

andytaft44

'Live now pay later' captures the mood of the early 1960s so aptly, along with all of the other so-called 'kitchen-sink' dramas on release at that time. Now, 40+ years on, they form a substantial part of my ever-growing collection of B & W British flicks. Along the same lines was 'My Street', also with Ian hendry, but which seems to have attained even greater obscurity than LNPL when it comes to finding a print, however tatty.

Live now pay later portrays so well the Hire-purchase mind-set that was prevalent in late post-war Britain. And the cast for this film couldn't have been better selected. The juke-box suited tally boy was a solid hall mark feature of the era, and sadly no more.

In lieu of procuring a film copy of Live now Pay Later, I bought the original Jack Trevor Story novel - second-hand, mind you, even the book is out of print. For those who lament being unable to get the video, I thoroughly recommend reading the novel - it's witty and entertaining from end to end and comprises a trilogy mapping out the storyline well byond the timeframe captured by the film.