The Pay Off (1930)
Directed by Lowell Sherman
Genres - Crime |
Sub-Genres - Crime Drama |
Release Date - Oct 15, 1930 (USA - Unknown) |
Run Time - 65 min. |
Countries - United States |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
Exercising his usual creative prerogative, Lowell Sherman was both star and director of RKO's The Pay Off. Sherman plays Gene Fenmore, a jaded gangster boss who falls in love with innocent young Nancy Porter (Marian Nixon). When Nancy's sweetheart Tommy Brown (William Janney) faces execution for a crime he didn't commit, Gene's first impulse is to let the boy fry so that he can have a clear field with the heroine. Ultimately, however, Gene proves he's a decent sort by clearing Tommy and philosophically keeping that date with the electric chair himself.
Released in Great Britain as The Losing Game, The Pay-Off was remade in 1938 as Law of the Underworld, with Chester Morris in the old Lowell Sherman role.
Characteristics
Themes
Keywords
robbery, love, Robin-Hood, romance, self-sacrifice