Plot
Hal Curtis (Clifford) and Joe Lawson (Lon Chaney), partners in a mine, have a disagreement. Lawson strangles Curtis and accidentally shoots Curtis' wife. He deserts his own wife and child and elopes with Hilda Hendricks (Selbie), a weak girl of the town. As they are leaving, they hear a baby's cry and find Curtis' little daughter in the arms of her dead mother. Hilda takes the child. Seventeen years pass. Lawson has changed his name to White and owns a dance hall in the heart of lumber country. The men call him "Killer" White. Marta (Phillips), his partner's child, has grown to womanhood and a lumberjack named Mac Jepson has fallen in love with her. He is chagrined at finding Marta dressed in a sleazy costume, running the roulette wheel in Killer's bar. Curtis wanders into camp and, recognizing Hilda, asks where his daughter is. Hilda points her out to him and he becomes enraged, vowing vengeance on the Killer. He is backed by the young lumberjack, who is none other than the son Lawson had abandoned. A fight follows and just before Lawson can kill Curtis, a shot rings out and Lawson drops. Hilda holds the gun. Before dying, Lawson tells Marta that she is not his daughter, and the two young people leave together.Cast
* Lon Chaney as Joe Lawson * J. Edwin Brown as Martin (as Eddie Brown) * William Clifford as Hal Curtis * Evelyn Selbie as Hilda Hendricks * Tom Wilson as 'Mac' Jepson * Dorothy Phillips as Marta * Claire Du Brey as Nita * William Stowell as Bill The Boss * John George as Bar Patron * Dick La Reno as Bit Role (uncredited)Reception
"PAY ME is a strong, virile drama. It smacks of the melodramatic in its every scene. There is action in every line. The exhibitor can book this picture without a hesitancy. His patrons will be satisfied.....The climax reached is well conceived and put over with a punch.....Dorothy Phillips, who is featured, doesn't get much opportunity to impress her audience that she is really the star. As a matter of fact, Lon Chaney, William Stowell or Evelyn Selbie vie with her for honors. These do unusually good work in character roles." --''-Motion Picture News''Blake, Michael F. (1998). ''The Films of Lon Chaney''. Vestal Press Inc. p. 75.. "Lon Chaney makes the bad man of the plot a little too palpable, but is forceful nevertheless." ---''Moving Picture World''.See also
* Lon Chaney filmography * List of rediscovered filmsReferences
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pay Me 1917 films 1917 drama films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films 1910s rediscovered films American black-and-white films American silent feature films English-language drama films Films directed by Joseph De Grasse Films with screenplays by Bess Meredyth Rediscovered American films Silent American drama films Universal Pictures films