Juno (Sara Allgood) lives in a two-room tenement with her husband, the lazy Captain Boyle (Edward Chapman), whom she calls the "Paycock". That's "peacock" with a bit of a Gaelic accent thrown in! Their two adult children live with them, Mary (Kathleen O'Regan) and Johnny (John Laurie). Mary has a job, but is on strike. Johnny lost an arm during the Irish War Of Independence, and recently betrayed a fellow member of the Irish Republican Army who was murdered. The Paycock tells his friend, Joxer (Sidney Morgan), about his disgust with the informant, unaware that it's his own son. Johnny is in danger for his betrayal.
And then in walks Charlie Bentham (John Longden) a man who claims to have helped a cousin of the Paycock's write his will, and that the Paycock will inherit a bit of money. Before the cash is in hand the family buys things on credit including a gramophone, new clothes and furniture. Then the hammer drops. Bentham made a mistake in the will and the Paycock will inherit nothing. And Bentham has gotten Mary pregnant, and done a runner. And the IRA comes for Johnny. The film ends with Mary and Juno setting out on their own, knowing that the Paycock will never amount to anything.
And then in walks Charlie Bentham (John Longden) a man who claims to have helped a cousin of the Paycock's write his will, and that the Paycock will inherit a bit of money. Before the cash is in hand the family buys things on credit including a gramophone, new clothes and furniture. Then the hammer drops. Bentham made a mistake in the will and the Paycock will inherit nothing. And Bentham has gotten Mary pregnant, and done a runner. And the IRA comes for Johnny. The film ends with Mary and Juno setting out on their own, knowing that the Paycock will never amount to anything.
Sara Allgood and John Longden starred in Hitchcock's first talking picture, Blackmail, the year before in 1929. At the time of it's release, Juno And The Paycock received critical praise. On my viewing I felt like I was watching Eastenders with all the accents and poor audio. This is when I would normally turn on Closed Captioning, but alas, it was not available on the disc in my possession. This is also a very poor video transfer to dvd as there are many heads cut off! Also, there is a buzz over the audio--no matter how loud I turned up the volume, the buzz overshadowed and often drowned out the audio. A reviewer on IMDB called for a restoration of all of hitchcocks pre-1934 films and I completely agree. Hitchcock did NOT appear in a cameo in Juno And The Paycock.
And for any Eastenders fans out there, isn't the Paycock the spitting image of Keith Miller?!
And for any Eastenders fans out there, isn't the Paycock the spitting image of Keith Miller?!
