PAYDAY - Rip Torn Kills It!

Rare and hard to find but worth every minute.
PAYDAY stars Rip Torn (Yeah that's what he called himself) as a boozing and drugging country star in this 1974 gem. I think this movie was designed to show that country could be just as rock 'n' roll as anything else. Purportedly the film is loosely based on Hank Williams's life but no one can change the fact that this was ripped Torn's tour de force.
Although Torn may be best remembered and most beloved for his role in the Larry Sanders show, his younger self was once a serious actor on the level of Jack Nicholson. As a matter of fact he was originally cast for Nicholson's role in Easy Rider, but after pulling a knife on Dennis Hopper he lost the part. Later in life Torn was also caught breaking into a bank late at night thinking it was his home, at least that's what the drunken Torn told the cops. He was an eccentric guy who made eccentric choices in his career.
In this film he plays Maury Dann, a fringe country western songwriter paying his dues on the road, carving out a self-destructive path with every twist and turn, not caring who he hurts. There was a time in this country when things weren't politically correct, I enjoy movies like this which creates a Portrait of the era in which it was made. There's a great scene where Maury Dann gets his girlfriend stoned so that she passes out in the limo and he can have sex with another girl in the same seat while she sleeps.
I have a feeling that is this movie had Robert Altman's name attached to it it would receive a lot more attention, but Daryl Duke did an excellent job creating an uncomfortable movie about a terrible person and still making it enjoyable.