Payroll main backdrop
Payroll main poster

6.7/10 • 28

1961-01-011h 45m

CrimeDrama

Brilliant... Brutal... Torn from tonight's headlines!

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.

Directors
Sidney Hayers
Editors
Tristam Cones

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Michael Craig

    Michael Craig

    Johnny Mellors

  2. Françoise Prévost

    Françoise Prévost

    Katie Pearson

  3. Billie Whitelaw

    Billie Whitelaw

    Jackie Parker

  4. William Lucas

    William Lucas

    Dennis Pearson

  5. Kenneth Griffith

    Kenneth Griffith

    Monty

  6. Tom Bell

    Tom Bell

    Blackie

  7. Barry Keegan

    Barry Keegan

    Bert Langridge

  8. Edward Cast

    Edward Cast

    Detective Sergeant Bradden

  9. Andrew Faulds

    Andrew Faulds

    Detective Inspector Carberry

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Nov 7, 2022

7/10

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.

Media

  • Payroll poster
  • Payroll poster
  • Payroll poster
  • Payroll poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
factoryrobberynorthern englandambushdeceitneo-noir