Best movies like The Payoff
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A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like The Payoff Starring Lee Tracy, Tom Brown, Tina Thayer, Evelyn Brent, and more. If you liked The Payoff then you may also like: Unmasked, Up for Murder, Upperworld, Wives Under Suspicion, The Nuisance and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.
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.
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Up for Murder
Young reporter accidentially kills his newspaper's editor in a fight over the publisher's mistress, who is also the paper's society editor.
Upperworld
A railroad tycoon, disillusioned with his marriage, starts seeing a showgirl. Things go agreeably until the woman's manager decides to blackmail the millionaire.
The Nuisance
Fast-talker extraordinaire Tracy gives one of his quintessential wiseguy performances as a conniving ambulance chaser who falls in love with Evans, unaware she's a special investigator for a streetcar company he's repeatedly victimized.
Road to Alcatraz
The police think a young lawyer (Robert Lowery) killed his partner, but he was drugged when it happened.
The Jury's Secret
A reporter covering a murder trial guesses that the murderer of a ruthless businessman is her ex-fiancé and persuades him to confess and clear the innocent man on trial.
City Girl
In this tearful crime melodrama, a waitress becomes so taken with her dream of living in posh luxury and comfort that she leaves her honest boyfriend the district attorney to take up with a notorious gangster who lavishes her with stolen furs and fabulous diamonds. She has no idea that the crook is only using her as a pawn in his scheme to learn the DA's secrets. When she finally does learn the truth, she gives up her life for truth, justice and love.
The Escape
An embittered Louie Peronni returns from prison to find that his sister, Juli Peronni, is engaged to policeman Eddie Farrell, and also finds that his secret wife Annie Qualen has placed their baby girl in a foundling home. With his old gang again, Louie plans a robbery of a fur warehouse. Louie shoots down the night watchman and is trailed home where his father Guiseppe Peronni persuades him not to fight it out with the police. Determined to let Louie take the full rap, the gang kidnaps the district attorney's daughter.
The Exiles
Finding herself accused of a murder she didn't commit, Alice Carroll flees to Tangier, Morocco. District Attorney Henry Holcombe, meanwhile, has discovered that she is actually innocent and sets out to search for her. He finds her in Tanger, but she is under the influence of the shady Wilhelm von Linke, who owns a seedy gambling den. Complications ensue.
Francis Covers the Big Town
A man who has a talking mule gets a job on a newspaper, and both get mixed up in a murder trial.
Slaughter on 10th Avenue
A rookie assistant DA is assigned to investigate the murder of a longshoreman, killed for exposing gangster involvement on the piers, and meets up with a "code of silence" amongst all potential witnesses.
It Could Happen to You
A politically charged story about a man who dabbles in crime, with disastrous results, to gain the capital he needs to purchase a school where immigrants are prepared for American citizenship. The school's European teacher dreams of a fascist America. Based on a story by Nathanael West and Samuel Ornitz, who was one of the Hollywood Ten blacklisted during the McCarthy Era.
The Stork Pays Off
Gangster Deak Foster and his three henchmen, Brains Moran, Ears-to-the-Ground Hinkle and Photofinish Farris, take over what they think is a night club run by a rival, Stud Rocco, only to discover it is a nursery run by Irene Perry. All fall under the benign influence to the point where the three henchmen go to night school to be educated and Deak falls in love with Julie.
The Drag-Net
A playboy takes a job as an assistant district attorney, finds himself up against a tough crime boss and his gang.
Man From Headquarters
A police reporter solves a murder case in Chicago, then moves on to St. Louis-but not voluntarily, since he has been kidnapped by the minions of the Windy City gang leader against whom he is scheduled to testify.
Partners in Crime
After being dismissed for imitating his boss's voice on radio, former Assistant District Attorney Richard Deming witnesses a store robbery and is taken captive by the criminals. Suspected of the crime, he is sought by the police, but his sweetheart, Marie, convinced of his innocence, enlists the help of two friends, a newspaper reporter and a half-witted detective. Hoping to win the girl's favor, the two go to the gangsters' hideout, encounter a violent gang war, and accidently set off a case of police tear bombs. The police, summoned by Marie, arrive just in time to save the kidnaped attorney.
The Boss of Big Town
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 Final Hour
A down-and-out lawyer gets back on his feet with help from a singer who later retains him to defend her on a murder charge.
Her Forgotten Past
A compulsive gambler, thought to have been killed in an automobile crash, reappears when his wife remarries.
Gang Bullets
A Capone-like racketeer named Anderson, who after being chased out of one town by the authorities immediately sets up shop in another. Unable to get any tangible evidence against Anderson, DA Wayne orders his assistant Carter to dig up some dirt on the gangster boss. To do this, Carter pretends to turned crooked, joining Anderson's gang in order to accumulate evidence. Alas, Carter's girl friend Patricia knows nothing of her boyfriend's subterfuge, and she suspects the worst.
The Devil Is Driving
Gabby Denton, a hard-drinking, down-on-his-luck drifter, seems to get a chance at redemption when his brother-in-law helps get him a job as a mechanic. Not realizing the garage he works for is actually a front for a stolen car ring, Gabby soon finds himself mixed up in both murder and a liaison with the boss's girl.
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
A girl reporter is trying to tack down the lady-in-the-title, as a key witness in a graft trial, which involves three murder and that many failed attempts. A prosecuting attorney in the district attorneys office is aiding her in solving the mystery of the missing lady.
Lady from Nowhere
A manicurist witnesses a gangland murder. Realizing there was a witness to their crime, the killer tries to track her down and silence her.
The Invisible Killer
Reporter Sue Walker has too much inside information on the local gambling rackets to suit her sweetheart, Detective Lieutenant Jerry Brown, chief of the police Homicide Squad. When the call comes in that there has been a killing at Lefty Ross' place, a notorious gambling joint, Jerry is peeved when Sue beats him there. He discovers that gambler Jimmy Clark was killed as he answered a telephone call, and his body is riddled with bullets but Jerry can't find any weapon. Sue is amazed to see Gloria Cunningham there. Gloria's father is one of the town's leading reformers and she is engaged to District Attorney Richard Sutton. Ross decides to give Sutton all the information he needs and makes an appointment to go to Sutton's home. Once there, Ross is called to the telephone before he can give any information, and is killed in the same mysterious manner as Jimmy Clark.
Headline Crasher
The popular B-flick team of Frankie Darro and Kane Richmond star in the slick quickie Headline Crasher. Little Frankie and Big Kane play a pair of roving journalists who investigate a politician (Richard Tucker) up for re-election. When it seems as though the politico is being set up for a fall by yellow journalists, Darro and Richmond try to get to the truth of the matter. The original story for Headline Crasher is credited to Peter B. Kyne, creator of the "Broncho Billy" western stories.
The Benson Murder Case
A ruthless, crooked stockbroker is murdered at his luxurious country estate, and detective Philo Vance just happens to be there; he decides to find out who killed him.
Mr. District Attorney
An assistant prosecutor and his spunky friend investigate a suddenly hot case.
Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case
Like the first entry, this one is played mostly for laughs, with Radio's Mister District Attorney. James Ellison replacing Dennis O'Keefe as feckless assistant DA P. Cadwallader Jones. The publisher of a tony fashion magazine is murdered, requiring Jones to sift through a colorful array of suspects. He is helped along by snoopy girl reporter Terry Parker.
Secrets of the Underground
With the help of a WAAC group, Mr. District Attorny smashes a Nazi spy-ring that is selling counterfeit War Stamps and Bonds.
Corruption
A young lawyer is elected mayor of the city and promises to rid it of the corruption it's famous for. The problem is that most of the corruption he's vowed to eliminate is caused by the crooked political machine that helped elect him.
The Man Who Dared
A crusading reporter plans his own arrest and conviction for first degree murder, trying to show that the death sentence should be outlawed when based on circumstantial evidence alone, but his plan goes awry.
Sealed Lips
There's something very odd about Romano, a notorious gangster serving time in the federal pen. For one thing, Romano doesn't sound much like himself. For another, he always seems to be hiding something. Detective Lee suspects that something's amiss, and he's probably right!
Mysterious Crossing
While crossing on the train ferry to New Orleans, roving reporter Addison Francis Murphy borrows money from singing hillbilly "Carolina," then loses it all in a crap game. Outside on deck, Murphy sees two men shaking hands, and after he looks away, hears a splash of water and discovers both men have disappeared...
Sing Sing Nights
A respected war correspondent is found murdered, with three bullets--from three different guns--in him. Three different men are arrested, convicted and sentenced to death for the murder, but only one can be the actual killer. A criminologist sets out to find who is really guilty.
End of the Road
A crime writer believes that a man imprisoned for committing the notorious "Flower Shop Murder" is innocent of the crime. He believes he knows who the actual culprit is, and sets out to befriend the man and get enough evidence to prove that he is the real killer.
Find the Witness
A newspaper reporter covering a famous magician's eroding marriage must later prove that the subject was responsible for his wife's murder.
High Pressure
Gar Evans is a con artist, who pretends to be the owner of a "Golden Gate Artificial Rubber Company", and he is looking for investors. Finding them is relatively easy, but it becomes difficult when those want to see the inventor of the synthetic rubber...
Lawyer Man
Idealistic attorney Anton Adam makes headlines when he successfully prosecutes a prominent New York racketeer named Gilmurry. Adam's sudden renown attracts the attention of high-profile legal eagle Granville Bentley, who asks Adam to become a partner in his law firm. But Adam's rising career takes a nosedive when he's framed by Gilmurry and a sexy actress in a trumped-up breach of promise suit. The only constant in Adam's life is the loyalty and unrequited love of his secretary Olga.
Phantom Killer
Well-known philanthropist and deaf-mute John G. Harrison is identified leaving the scene of several murders but evades successful prosecution as there are hundreds of witnesses who have also seen him emceeing benefits at the exact same time as the murders.
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.
A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like The Payoff Starring Lee Tracy, Tom Brown, Tina Thayer, Evelyn Brent, and more. If you liked The Payoff then you may also like: Unmasked, Up for Murder, Upperworld, Wives Under Suspicion, The Nuisance and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.
Unmasked
The editor of a sleazy tabloid newspaper has been borrowing money from his lover, the wife of a rich theatrical producer, and promises to marry her when she gets a divorce. However, the husband refuses to grant her a divorce, and takes back all the money and jewelry he has given her. The editor sees her husband leaving her apartment and, seeing his opportunity, kills her, takes all his IOUs (and the jewelry) and frames the husband for the murder.