The Pay-Off (1930)

best movie i've ever seen.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

There are several crime dramas from the 1930s to chose from and this one is below average to me. If you want a good crime film from the 1930s you'll have to look elsewhere. This "drama" has it's "cutesy" moments with the wife and once in awhile the men so it's a cutesy drama at times - yea it's "one of those" you see fairly often from the 1930s.I found the story bland, the acting merely okay, cinematography and directing average. Really, look elsewhere for a GOOD crime drama from the 1930s - this one is very mundane, nothing special - doesn't have what it takes to really stand out from other films. Not a hidden gem.This is another film I wanted to like, or at least get into to a degree but I couldn't. Bored me to tears.2/10

The Pay-Off (1930) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Young lovers (Marian Nixon, William Janney) run off to get married but while talking about the money they have saved, they're robbed by a thug (Hugh Trevor) who happens to be working under gangster Gene Fenmore (Lowell Sherman). Soon the two young ones attempt to hold up the gangsters and finding their effort good, Gene takes both of them under his wing to try and give them a better life.THE PAY-OFF is another one of those early talking pictures that deal with love, gangsters and of course a morality tale. The film certainly isn't a masterpiece or even very good but if you're a fan of this era of filmmaking then it's certainly worth watching at least once thanks to a decent story and a nice leading performance by Sherman.At just 71 minutes the film moves at a very good pace and for the most part it keeps you entertained throughout. The film does have some weak performances scattered throughout and that includes Trevor who comes across quite laughable at times. This is especially true during the scene where him and his girlfriend hold up the gangsters. The film also suffers from some pretty far-fetched, overly-cute moments that don't help anything.I thought Sherman was quite good in the lead role and that he was also very believable in the part of a gangster who tries to do things with the human life being respected. THE PAY-OFF is worth watching if you're a fan of films from this era but just don't expect a masterpiece.

This early RKO Radio talkie begins with a scene introducing two incredibly naive juveniles whose unfortunate task is to present the exposition via some of the most obvious dialogue imaginable. Later scenes reveal better dialogue and acting, especially from director Lowell Sherman, a Broadway veteran whose polished, dandified, debonair character uses his big eyes to punctuate his lines. It's all unbelievable and frightfully innocent, but there's some good fun to be had. The women's frocks are particularly unfortunate. But Sherman's performance saves this from being a complete throw-a-way. His performance reminds one of Warner Baxter or William Powell.The film is based on the play CRIME by Samuel Shipman and John B. Hymer. It had a good run of 186 performances at the Eltinge Theatre in New York from February to August 1927. Among the cast were Sylvia Sidney as Annabelle and Chester Morris as Rocky. In 1938, Morris starred in a new film version called LAW OF THE UNDERWORLD essaying the role of Gene Fillmore (Fenmore in the play and first film version).

The film is interesting more on account of its vintage than its plot. The acting is campy,stagey, hammy. The idea that a bunch of rowdies pillage and rob with no guns and no killings was probably just as absurd then as it seems today. However, this was likely the last appearance for Lowell Sherman in front of the camera. His style of acting seems to have become obsolete with the advent of talkies,possibly before. I am not certain who plays the role of Nancy. Incidentally, this film was remade a couple of years after Sherman's death with Richard Dix and an oily, villainous Eduardo Cianelli. That one was better, but even the acting and slightly better tech weren't enough to salvage the much outdated script and concept. However, if you just dig old celluloid, as I do, it's a worthwhile watch.