The Payoff

The Payoff

HE'S BACK AGAIN... The Fastest talking newshawk in his greatest role!

1942 · 74 min · ★ 5.9 · Action, Thriller, Crime, Mystery

The city's District Attorney is murdered, and a newspaper reporter investigates. He starts finding out that everything wasn't quite as cut and dried as it appeared to be.

Directed by Arthur Dreifuss · Written by Edward Dein

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Rent or Buy

Amazon Video

Cast

Make it a double feature

2h 21m together

The Payoff

I Surrender Dear

Both from Arthur Dreifuss.

More from Arthur DreifussSee all →

I Surrender DearI Surrender Dear · 1948
I Surrender Dear
★ 10.01948
MovieRomanceMusic
Patty Nelson lands a job as a singer with orchestra leader Al Tyler, and tours with the band as "Patty Hart." Patty's father Russ is dismissed from his radio-station job, and the disc jockey selected to replace him is Al Tyler. Patty rushes home to keep Russ company on the air for the final few days, and Al wonders why she suddenly walked out on him. The new "Patty and Russ" radio show catches on, causing complications with Al and the radio-station bosses.
Little Miss BroadwayLittle Miss Broadway · 1947
Little Miss Broadway
★ 8.01947
MovieMusicComedy
Upon leaving finishing school, Judy Gibson goes to meet her presumed wealthy and socially prominent relatives. However they are penniless Broadway characters and take possession of a Long Island mansion owned by an incarcerated thief so Judy doesn't find out the truth. Judy arrives with her fiancé and his father, who tries to sell worthless stock to Judy's family. They give him $200,000, part of the stashed loot they found belonging to the home-owner thief.
Life Begins At 17Life Begins At 17 · 1958
Life Begins At 17
★ 7.51958
MovieDrama
Rich college fraternity boy tries to get small-town beauty contest winner to fall for him by making a play for her 16-year-old sister.
There's a Girl in My HeartThere's a Girl in My Heart · 1949
There's a Girl in My Heart
★ 7.01949
MovieMusicComedy
A Gay-Nineties musical set in NYC's Bowery and East-Side explores the life of its inhabitants---an Irish policeman and his tap-dancing daughter and music-hall wife; a German professor of music and his singing daughter; and an Italian café-owner, a kindly priest, a struggling young doctor and a saloon-keeper. And a political ward-heeler, Terrence Dowd, who has a deceptive and dishonest plan to sell them all out in order to build a fight arena. But he meets his match in property-owner Claire Adamson.
Sarong GirlSarong Girl · 1943
Sarong Girl
★ 7.01943
MovieMusicComedy
A dancer in a girlie show plots revenge when a judge orders her show closed.
A Time to SingA Time to Sing · 1968
A Time to Sing
★ 6.51968
MovieDramaMusic
A young farmer becomes a singer against the wishes of his uncle.
Prison ShipPrison Ship · 1945
Prison Ship
★ 6.51945
MovieActionWar
Panic arises among Allied POWs aboard a Japanese freighter when they learn that the ship is actually a decoy target for American submarines on night patrol. The prisoners unite and attack their Japanese captors just as an American sub surfaces and, not knowing the prisoners are aboard, prepares to torpedo the ship.
High School HeroHigh School Hero · 1946
High School Hero
★ 6.51946
MovieMusicComedy
The Teen-Agers are down in the dumps: their football team faces almost-certain defeat, the school paper might need to suspend publication because circulation is so low, and the principal intends to replace student performers with professionals.
The Boss of Big TownThe Boss of Big Town · 1942
The Boss of Big Town
★ 6.21942
MovieActionThriller
Quality was seldom a consideration in the low-budget films of PRC Studios; still, the company was a welcome harbor for character actors who aspired to occasional leading roles. In Boss of Big Town, veteran supporting player John Litel is top-billed as crusading city market official Michael Lynn. When a criminal gang muscles in on the local food distribution markets, Lynn vows to throw the rascals out. First, however, he pretends to join the villains as a paid government stooge, the better to find out the identity of the "Mister Big" behind the distribution racket. The exposure of the "mystery villain" will come as a shock to fans of the 1927 Cecil B. DeMille epic The King of Kings--but not to dyed-in-the-wool movie buffs.
The Last BlitzkriegThe Last Blitzkrieg · 1959
The Last Blitzkrieg
★ 6.11959
MovieWarDrama
The fanatical son of a Nazi General leads a squad of German commandos, disguised as American Troops, behind the lines in order to sabotage the Allied Forces.
An Old-Fashioned GirlAn Old-Fashioned Girl · 1949
An Old-Fashioned Girl
★ 6.01949
MovieComedy
A music teacher in 1870s Boston works hard to succeed, while her wealthy distant relatives find their fortunes turning.
Two Blondes and a RedheadTwo Blondes and a Redhead · 1947
Two Blondes and a Redhead
★ 6.01947
MovieComedyMusic
Socialite Cathy Abbott is working in the chorus of a Broadway show instead of being enrolled at an exclusive girl's school as her parents think. When the show closes, she brings two of her chorus friends home with her. In addition to trying to make her friends acceptable to the snooty society of which her family is part, she is also being blackmailed by a rival.
Boston Blackie Booked on SuspicionBoston Blackie Booked on Suspicion · 1945
Boston Blackie Booked on Suspicion
★ 5.81945
MovieCrimeMystery
Blackie is implicated in a murder when he accidently sells a phony Charles Dickens first edition at an auction.
Campus RhythmCampus Rhythm · 1943
Campus Rhythm
★ 5.71943
MovieRomanceComedy
Radio singer Joan Abbott, known as the "Crunchy-Wunchy Thrush", does not want to renew her contract with the cereal sponsor, as she wants to go to college. But her guardian, her Uncle Willie signs the contract in order to pay off his own debts. But this time Joan won't take no for an answer and enrolls under an assumed name. When Joan goes missing, the radio institutes a search for Joan via a publicity stunt.
Junior PromJunior Prom · 1946
Junior Prom
★ 5.31946
MovieMusicComedy
A wealthy man's son is running for high school student body president, and the boy's father tells the principal that if his son wins, he will make a sizable donation that will pay for the football team's much-needed uniforms.
Riot on Sunset StripRiot on Sunset Strip · 1967
Riot on Sunset Strip
★ 5.11967
MovieDrama
A police captain is caught between businesses operating on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip who don't like the punks hanging out, and his belief in allowing the kids their rights. But when his daughter gets involved with an unruly bunch, his attitude starts to change.

More Like This

ZodiacZodiac · 2007
Zodiac
★ 7.52007
MovieCrimeMystery
Police conduct a manhunt for the Zodiac Killer, a serial killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area during the late 1960s and early 1970s, taunting police with letters, bloodstained clothing, and ciphers mailed to newspapers.
The Night FlierThe Night Flier · 1997
The Night Flier
★ 6.01997
MovieHorrorMystery
For cynical tabloid journo Richard Dees, facts are always stranger than fiction. Every headline is a dead-line. Serial killers, UFO abductions, tales of molestation, mayhem and murder. To some the tales are mere sleazy fantasy – but his faithful readers believe. And now there's a new story: The Night Flier. What is it that travels by night in a dark-winged Cessna, lands at secluded airfields and murders local residents? Dees begins to track the unknown killer in a Cessna of his own, uncovering clues that reveal a pilot more terrifying than he could have ever imagined.
The InsiderThe Insider · 1999
The Insider
★ 7.51999
MovieDramaThriller
A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.
Universal SoldierUniversal Soldier · 1992
Universal Soldier
★ 6.31992
MovieThrillerAction
An American soldier who had been killed during the Vietnam War is revived 25 years later by the military as a semi-android, UniSols, a high-tech soldier of the future. After the failure of the initiative to erase all the soldier's memories, he begins to experience flashbacks that are forcing him to recall his past.
Doctor XDoctor X · 1932
Doctor X
★ 6.01932
MovieHorrorThriller
A wisecracking New York reporter intrudes on a research scientist's quest to unmask The Moon Killer.
The Return of Doctor XThe Return of Doctor X · 1939
The Return of Doctor X
★ 6.01939
MovieScience FictionHorror
When news reporter Walter Garrett arrives at the hotel room of bombshell actress Angela Merrova to conduct an interview, he finds her dead from multiple stab wounds. He returns with the police to find the hotel empty and the body vanished. Garrett writes about the incident but is fired when Merrova, alive and well, goes to the paper to complain. Now his only chance to get his job back is to find the truth, which involves the grisly scheme of a madman.
Scream 3Scream 3 · 2000
Scream 3
★ 6.02000
MovieHorrorMystery
As bodies begin dropping around the Hollywood set of STAB 3, the third film based on the gruesome Woodsboro killings, Sidney and other survivors are once again terrorized by another Ghostface killer.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the OozeTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze · 1991
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
★ 6.21991
MovieScience FictionAdventure
The Turtles and the Shredder battle once again, this time for the last cannister of the ooze that created the Turtles, which Shredder wants to create an army of new mutants. Meanwhile Splinter is coming... to a decision.
The Parallax ViewThe Parallax View · 1974
The Parallax View
★ 6.81974
MovieCrimeDrama
An ambitious reporter gets in trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the world's headlines.
State of PlayState of Play · 2009
State of Play
★ 6.82009
MovieThrillerCrime
When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.
Grand Theft AutoGrand Theft Auto · 1977
Grand Theft Auto
★ 5.31977
MovieComedyAction
A rich girl steals her dad's Rolls Royce and heads off to Las Vegas to get married. However, her angry parents, a jealous suitor, and a bunch of reward seekers are determined to stop her.
Deep RedDeep Red · 1975
Deep Red
★ 7.71975
MovieHorrorMystery
An English pianist living in Rome witnesses the brutal murder of his psychic neighbor. With the help of a tenacious young reporter, he tries to discover the killer using very unconventional methods. The two are soon drawn into a shocking web of dementia and violence.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter