Paid (1930)

A young woman (Joan Crawford) is sent to prison for a crime she did not commit. Released after three years for good behavior, she plots her revenge against the man (Purnell Pratt) she considers responsible for sending her to prison. Based on the play WITHIN THE LAW by Lucien Hubbard and Charles MacArthur and directed by Sam Wood (A NIGHT AT THE OPERA). Previously filmed in 1916 and 1923, this was the first sound adaptation. It's a talky, often tedious, piece of hokum that proved lucrative at the box office and bolstered Crawford's burgeoning star status at MGM. Crawford emotes furiously and her star power holds the picture together for awhile but it's not enough. It can't help but creak! For Crawford fans only. It would be filmed again in 1969 in India. With Robert Armstrong, Marie Prevost, Douglass Montgomery, John Miljan and Louise Beavers.