marqymarqy Review of Live Now - Pay Later

Live Now - Pay Later (1962)

Underrated Actors In An Undiscovered Classic

[10 September 2012]

Ian Hendry stars as Albert Argyll, a door to door salesman with the gift of the gab – not only able to sell goods that people don't need to people who don't need them on hire purchase – but also bed every woman, married or unmarried, who makes his acquaintance. Do we envy him – well no, not really – because he can't sustain the one relationship he would most like to: that with steady girlfriend Treasure (June Ritchie). June Ritchie is one of those sad assets of film – a page three girl born thirty years too soon - (alternatively, was The Sun's page three 30 years too late?) June appears here topless in her morning bathtub in the squat she shares with boyfriend Hendry – a steamy scene because of the hot water which should have been steamier but couldn't be as the result would have been hot water for the distributors – let's not forget this old corker of a film came out in 1962. A good sub-plot involves the magnificent Geoffrey Keen – an actor so good he's totally believable in any role - be it sympathetic, hardnosed or irascible – and wife Liz Fraser (what price to have seen her topless?) in a horrific marriage of inconvenience played out for her financial security and his social kudos ending in her panic induced death. John Gregson's over indulgent toupee rather lets the side down. Watch this film and witness guilt-free chain smoking – from a time when it was still a pastime not a life threatening habit – but just think – only 11 years after this film was released all UK cigarette packets would carry health warnings. It's almost impossible this has never been released on VHS or DVD. It was last broadcast in 1996 on Channel 4 in the UK