One of the wrost movies I have ever seen

Masterful Cinema

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I'm not a big fan of RIP TORN. I like identifiable actors who play themselves and show me a bit of myself in their performances rather than ones who are a bit too real.TORN plays Maury Dan, a real mean SOB country music singer. He is the sort of character whom podcasters like bill burr and joe rogan discuss with thinly masked reverence. He is a molester, murderer, hard drinker and does not care about anyone but himself.Cliff Emmich is his loyal driver/bodyguard who is even willing to go to jail for a murder committed by maury.Elayne Heilveil and Ahna Capri play the groupies who fight over him when he is on the road. In a really mean spirited but funny scene, TORN throws out capri out of his car for fighting with elayne. Then the car drives away, stops suddenly, reverses and torn throws out a wad of cash at Capri. Then the car drives away, only to stop again, reverse and this time torn steps out and retrieves the money from the ground and tells Capri - you didn't earn it. the scene might have inspired a similar one in THE DEER HUNTER.Apart from being a character study, PAYDAY is also a great road movie. This is a solid film with great shots of the outdoors and some powerful scenes. I really did not see the ending coming. It was quite spectacular. I suspect TORN is not too different in real life, compared to the character he played in this movie (watch his fight with Norman Mailer on Youtube).DARYL DUKE, the director, also made the fantastic THE SILENT PARTNER.

For those of you who are familiar with Rip Torn as irascible and authoritarian yet lovable characters such as Artie in "The Larry Sanders Show" and Zed in "Men in Black" be prepared for a shock. In this film there is nothing likable about Torn's character Maury Dann, a country singer currently on tour through the south. There is no wisdom behind his cynicism - he is all about using people. Specifically he is all about indulging in all the sex and substance abuse he can without regard to what it does to others. His life takes a turn to an even darker place when the boyfriend of one of his one-night stands catches up with him in a restaurant one day. This is one of those character study films that were very popular in the 1970's, and Torn does a great job playing a totally ruthless individual who has a totally different on-stage persona from his actual personality. He even does a fine job singing the country and western songs. Payday was directed by 1974 National Society of Film Critics Award winner Daryl Duke.It's a hidden gem worth seeking out.

You don't have to be Mexican to like burritos and you don't need to be a big country and western music fan to enjoy this nifty, low-budget character study of a singer on the road, pimping his records.It's been so many years since I've seen it that I've forgotten most of the plot details. What stands out is Rip Torn's performance as a druggie who tries to wheedle one DJ after another into playing his songs. He's quite good.There's another scene that, to me, illustrates some of the care that's gone into the script. Torn is being driven from town to town in his big 50-foot, ten-ton chipkicker idea of a magnificent car. The chauffeur is a friendly man of simple mind. Torn also has his girl friend with him in the back seat. She feels a genuine affection for this rogue but she's wily too and knows which side her bread is buttered on. She and Torn cuddle together frequently. She's pretty easy to cuddle up to because there seems to be so much of her.Somewhere along the way the troupe picks up a young and apparently guileless groupie, very attractive, breathless, awed by the company she finds herself in. Before long, while his girl friend nods out in the seat beside them, Torn puts some moves on her and she winds up doing a hushed lap dance on him. And the camera pans slowly to the right of the panting couple and fixes on the girlfriend's now wide-awake face as she stares at them in silent fury.In another scene, the groupie and the chauffeur are left alone in the car, waiting for the others. The driver begins an amiable conversation with her, talking about his favorite hobby (cooking), his aspirations. She gazes at him as he rambles casually on. When he stops, she smiles tightly and whispers, "What are you -- some kinda DRIVER?" It's like a predator pouncing out of nowhere. She's hardly said anything revealing up to this point and the viewer has formed an impression of her as an innocent young fawn-like creature, harmless and manipulated. And in a second or two she has turned into a self-interested, shallow, and cruel bitch before our eyes.Worth catching.

I saw this about 3 years ago - I got to admit I was slightly inebriated after a lot of alcohol, but still some of the scenes penetrated my mind clearly, with their pull-no-punches cynicism. Maury Dann (played by Rip Torn) was one of the most memorable crooks I've ever seen in film. This sombre character study from the 70's addresses the themes of power and using people, set in the world of country & western music. As Dann's world slowly but surely crumbles, we see glimpses of the past of this cynical singer star trying to hit it big and the bleak relationships around him.I agree with the previous writer, that the film is (sadly) largely unknown, despite a great script by the writer Don Carpenter and a staggering performance from Rip Torn.