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Payroll

Payroll

  • Status: Released
  • 19-01-1961
  • Runtime: 105 min
  • Score: 6.567
  • Vote count: 30

A vicious gang of crooks plan to steal the wages of a local factory, but their carefully laid plans go wrong, when the factory employs an armoured van to carry the cash. The gang still go ahead with the robbery, but when the driver of the armoured van is killed in the raid, his wife plans revenge, and with the police closing in, the gang start to turn on each other.

Michael Craig

Johnny Mellors

Françoise Prévost

Katie Pearson

Billie Whitelaw

Jackie Parker

William Lucas

Dennis Pearson

Kenneth Griffith

Monty

Tom Bell

Blackie

Barry Keegan

Bert Langridge

Edward Cast

Detective Sergeant Bradden

Andrew Faulds

Detective Inspector Carberry

William Dexter

Harry Parker

Glyn Houston

Frank Moore

Joan Rice

Madge Moore

Vanda Godsell

Doll

Stanley Meadows

Bowen

Hugh Morton

Mr. John

Keith Faulkner

Alf

Bruce Beeby

Worth

Murray Evans

Billy

Kevin Bennett

Archie Murdock

Pauline Shepherd

Secretary

Meadows White

Strange

Mary Laura Wood

Mrs. Murdock

Brian McDermott

Brent

Paddi Edwards

Beryl

Anthony Bate

Detective (uncredited)

Anita Sharp-Bolster

Landlady (uncredited)

Terence Soall

(uncredited)

CinemaSerf

Michael Craig is surprisingly effective in this British crime drama. He leads a nasty gang of hoodlums bent own robbing the poorly guarded payroll of a factory. Poorly guarded, that is, until - much to the gang's chagrin - they upgrade the protection to an armoured van. Determined to proceed, though, and after a nervous series of roadwork setbacks, they hit the van, steal the loot and the driver is killed. The widow - "Katie" (a solid performance from Françoise Prévost) is not for giving up, and agreeing with the police that the criminals must have had a man on the inside, she begins an investigation of her own. Meantime, the fatality and the need to keep the loot hidden until the dust settles is causing friction amongst the robbers and with the police closing in and the nerves shredding they begin to turn in on themselves. Sidney Hayers delivers a quickly and tautly paced film for us here, with a strong supporting cast including Billie Whitelaw, the always reliable Kenneth Griffith and Tom Bell all contributing to the general sense of encroaching peril as the truth is sought by the bloodhound "Insp. Carberry" (Andrew Faulds). It does take a bit too long getting going, but once in it's stride this is quite an enthralling watch that culminates predictably, but well.