I Promise to Pay (1937) DVD-R

Starring Chester Morris, Leo Carrillo, Helen Mack, Thomas Mitchell,
Thurston Hall
Directed by D. Ross Lederman

Print: black/white
Runtime: 68 min.
Genre: drama
Print Quality: B

Chester Morris plays a working stiff unable to provide for his family on his
meager salary. He arranges a loan with the seemingly benign Leo Carrillo,
but soon learns that he can't keep up with the curious interest
payments. Carrillo's loan company is actually a racket in league with the
local crime organization; Morris gets in so deep that he can't get out, and
before long his wife and daughter are in dire jeopardy. As was customary
at Columbia Pictures, the screen writers were handed the title I Promise
to Pay and then told to fashion a story from it. In this instance, inspiration
came from a recent government crackdown on loan sharks.