Payment Deferred (film)

Payment Deferred is a 1932 American PreCode crime drama film, starring Charles Laughton as a man so desperate for money, he resorts to murder. It was based on the play of the same name by Jeffrey Dell, which was in turn based on the novel of the same name by C. S. Forester. Laughton also played the lead role in the play, which opened on Broadway on September 30, 1931 and ran for 70 performances.

With the dead mans money, Marble speculates on margin and makes 30,000, a large sum that enables him to retire. However, fear of his crime being discovered makes him consistently nervous and irritable. His wife Annie Dorothy Peterson knows something is wrong, but wrongly guesses he has embezzled from the bank. To relieve his nervous tension, he sends Annie and their daughter Winnie Maureen OSullivan away on a threeweek vacation. While they are gone, he has an affair with Madame Collins Verree Teasdale, a local shopowner. Winnie finds out when she returns a day early and discovers Collins in the house, but keeps quiet about it.Despite their new financial wealth, troubles continue to grow for the Marble family. Annie finally figures out what her husband has done, but stands by him. Winnie becomes a bit of a snob, consorting with a higher social class of people and sneering at her parents. When she runs away one night, Annie chases after her in the rain and becomes very ill. However, under Marbles loving care, she begins to recover. Then Madame Collins shows up and blackmails Marble into giving her some money. Annie overhears and commits suicide with some of the same cyanide used to kill Medland. Marble is convicted for her murder. When Winnie visits on the day of his execution, Marble reassures her that he did not kill Annie, but says that he is nonetheless at peace with his fate. He is convinced he is paying a bill that was only deferred. ........

Source: Wikipedia