By Violet LeVoit
The Pay Off
Brief Synopsis
A gentleman thief suffers from unrequited love.
Cast & Crew
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Lowell Sherman
Director
Lowell Sherman
Gene Fenmore
Marion Nixon
Annabelle
Hugh Trevor
Rocky
William Janney
Tommy
Helene Millard
Dot
Film Details
Genre
Crime
Drama
Release Date
Oct
15,
1930
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 18m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6,930ft
(8 reels)
Synopsis
Annabelle and Tommy, engaged to be married, are robbed by a gang of thieves headed by Gene Fenmore. Tommy recognizes Rocky, a younger member of the gang, and with Annabelle attempts to rob Rocky and some of his cohorts; however, they are foiled, and Fenmore decides to give them jobs working for him. Against Fenmore's orders, Rocky induces Tommy and Annabelle to join them in a holdup; Rocky kills a shopowner, and the young couple are caught and arrested for the crime. In order to clear them, Fenmore confesses to having planned the robbery, then brings Rocky to task for his ruse; in the ensuing melee, Rocky is killed and Fenmore's gang turns against him.
Director
Lowell Sherman
Director
Cast
Lowell Sherman
Gene Fenmore
Marion Nixon
Annabelle
Hugh Trevor
Rocky
William Janney
Tommy
Helene Millard
Dot
George F. Marion
Mouse
Walter Mcgrail
Emory
Robert Mcwade
Frank
Alan Roscoe
District Attorney
Lita Chevret
Margy
Bert Moorehouse
Spat
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Crime
Drama
Release Date
Oct
15,
1930
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 18m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6,930ft
(8 reels)
Articles
The Pay Off -
The gangster is a popular archetype in pre-Code films not just because of their dastardly milieu, but because an impoverished public admired their lavish lifestyle and shared their disdain for institutions that ground down the "little people". When young engaged couple Annabelle and Tommy (Marian Nixon and William Janney) are victims of a hold-up, Tommy fights back, thus earning the respect of the big boss (director Lowell Sherman), a suave dandy in tie and tails who warns "Now when I'm running this outfit you'll lay off the gunplay". But when jealous gang member Rocky (Hugh Trevor) frames the new recruits for a murder, everything unravels. A remake of the Samuel Shipman and John B. Hyman play "Crime", this picture joins other pre-Code movies like Thunderbolt (1929) and Good Intentions (1930) depicting gangsters as sentimental heroes.
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
The Pay Off -
The gangster is a popular archetype in pre-Code films not just because of their dastardly milieu, but because an impoverished public admired their lavish lifestyle and shared their disdain for institutions that ground down the "little people". When young engaged couple Annabelle and Tommy (Marian Nixon and William Janney) are victims of a hold-up, Tommy fights back, thus earning the respect of the big boss (director Lowell Sherman), a suave dandy in tie and tails who warns "Now when I'm running this outfit you'll lay off the gunplay". But when jealous gang member Rocky (Hugh Trevor) frames the new recruits for a murder, everything unravels. A remake of the Samuel Shipman and John B. Hyman play "Crime", this picture joins other pre-Code movies like Thunderbolt (1929) and Good Intentions (1930) depicting gangsters as sentimental heroes.
By Violet LeVoit
