John Payne

Acting

John Payne

Born 1912-05-28 · Roanoke, Virginia, USA

John Payne was an American stage, screen, and television actor. He is best remembered as a singer in 20th Century Fox musical films and for his roles in Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and the television series The Restless Gun (1957-1959).

Acting credits

Kansas City Confidential poster
7.0

An ex-convict sets out to uncover who framed him for an armored car robbery.

Kansas City Confidential

1952

Slightly Scarlet poster
6.3

Kleptomaniac Dorothy Lyons is paroled from prison into the custody of her sister June, secretary to "reform" politician Frank Jansen. Ben Grace, associate of crime boss Sol "Solly" Caspar, sees this as a way to smear Jansen's campaign. Seductive Dorothy will do anything to get what she wants, which includes having a good time with Ben-- whom June is now in love with.

Slightly Scarlet

1956

Miracle on 34th Street poster
7.4

Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.

Miracle on 34th Street

1947

The Razor's Edge poster
6.9

An adventurous young man goes off to find himself and loses his socialite fiancée in the process. But when he returns 10 years later, she will stop at nothing to get him back, even though she is already married.

The Razor's Edge

1946

The Saxon Charm poster
4.6

In order to get his way, New York producer Matt Saxon manipulates and controls everyone around him but his latest protégé, novelist Eric Busch, finally stands-up to him.

The Saxon Charm

1948

Indianapolis Speedway poster
5.6

A champion auto racer who unhappily learns his kid brother wants to enter the same profession rather than finish school.

Indianapolis Speedway

1939

99 River Street poster
6.8

A former boxer turned taxi driver earns the scorn of his nagging wife and gets mixed up with jewel thieves.

99 River Street

1953

The Vanquished poster
4.9

A man returns to his home -- a post Civil-War village -- and finds the law is in the hands of a few scrupulous people.

The Vanquished

1953

Raiders of the Seven Seas poster
6.1

After staging a mutiny and commandeering his own ship, famed pirate Barbarossa takes hostage a spirited Spanish noblewoman named Alida, intending to trade her to her fiancé, Capt. Jose Salcedo, for a handsome ransom. But Barbarossa falls in love with Alida, who meanwhile discovers that the roguish swashbuckler is more honorable than her erstwhile betrothed.

Raiders of the Seven Seas

1953

Dodsworth poster
7.1

A retired auto manufacturer and his wife take a long-planned European vacation only to find that they want very different things from life.

Dodsworth

1936

The Crooked Way poster
6.2

A war veteran suffering from amnesia, returns to Los Angeles from a San Francisco veterans hospital hoping to learn who he is and discovers his criminal past.

The Crooked Way

1949

Rails Into Laramie poster
6.5

A federal agent arrives in Laramie to try to find out who is behind the efforts to stop the construction of a new railroad track.

Rails Into Laramie

1954

Hell's Island poster
5.5

Down-on-his-luck Mike Cormack is hired to fly to a Caribbean island to retrieve a missing ruby. On the island, possibly involved with the ruby's disappearance, is his ex-girlfriend.

Hell's Island

1955

Remember the Day poster
7.3

Elderly schoolteacher Nora Trinell, waiting to meet presidential nominee Dewey Roberts, recalls him as her student back in 1916 and his relation to Dan Hopkins, the man she married and lost.

Remember the Day

1941

Sentimental Journey poster
6.4

An actress becomes taken with Hitty, a young orphan prone to dreaming. Julie soon finds out that she is ill and has only a short time to live. She decides to adopt the child so that her husband Bill will not be alone when she dies. Unfortunately, Bill is not charmed by Hitty.

Sentimental Journey

1946

Silver Lode poster
6.2

Dan Ballard, a respected citizen in the western town of Silver Lode, has his wedding interrupted by four men led by Ned McCarty, an old acquaintance who, as a US Marshal, arrests Ballard for the murder of his brother and the theft of $20,000. Ballard seeks to stall McCarty while tracking down evidence that will prove his innocence.

Silver Lode

1954

King of the Lumberjacks poster
3.7

Outdoor drama about a newly-hired lumberjack discovering that his former girlfriend is now his new boss's wife.

King of the Lumberjacks

1940

Sun Valley Serenade poster
7.1

When Phil Corey's band arrives at the Idaho ski resort its pianist Ted Scott is smitten with a Norwegian refugee he has sponsored, Karen Benson. When soloist Vivian Dawn quits, Karen stages an ice show as a substitute.

Sun Valley Serenade

1941

The Road to Denver poster
7.0

The Mayhew brothers flee from one Texas town to another as older brother Bill repeatedly attempts to keep younger brother Sam out of jail. Bill finally gives up on his younger brother and heads for Colorado. He gets a job and all is well until his brother shows up and takes a job that puts them on opposite sides of the law.

The Road to Denver

1955

El Paso poster
6.0

Ex-confederate officer Clay Fletcher jumps at the chance to reunite with his once lady-friend, Susan Jeffers, when his father, Judge Fletcher, sends him on an errand to El Paso, Texas to get the signature of Susan's father, Judge Jeffers, on a legal document. Once there he finds the judge has become a drunk and a laughing stock, doing the bidding of local magnate Bert Donner and his running dog, Sheriff La Farge. Just as Clay starts straightening out the town's problems, events occur which force him to abandon the legal system and instead adopt the murderous tactics of a vigilante.

El Paso

1949

Santa Fe Passage poster
6.1

A disgraced Indian scout and his partner are hired to escort a wagonload of guns through Indian territory.

Santa Fe Passage

1955

Captain China poster
5.5

The title character, played by John Payne, is a ship's captain whose embittered behavior after losing his lady love seemingly leads to tragedy. Accused of deliberately scuttling his ship during a typhoon, Captain China hopes to clear himself by signing on as a common seaman on a vessel captain by his former first mate Brendensen. There's no love lost between the two men, and their mutual animosity is intensified when both fall in love with beautiful passenger.

Captain China

1950

Week-End in Havana poster
7.0

A ship company employee, Jay Williams, is sent to Florida where one of the company cruise ships is stuck on a reef off of the coast. He obtains waivers from all of the passengers with the exception of Nan Spencer, a department store salesgirl who wants her vacation now, not later. Jay is instructed to take Nan to Havana, set her up in the best hotel, and keep her entertained. She visits a nightclub where the star attraction is Rosita Rivas and meets Rosita's worthless manager, Monte Blanca, who makes a play for her. Trouble also comes in the form of Jay's fiancée, Terry McCracken, when a romance develops between Nan and Jay.

Week-End in Havana

1941

Larceny poster
5.9

Rick Mason is the no-good lowdown rat who tries to capitalize on postwar patriotism and grief. He finagles a war widow into giving up her savings for a nonexistent memorial. When Mason falls in love with the widow he has pangs of conscience, but he reckons without his con-artist boss, who tends to bolster his arguments with muscle and bullets.

Larceny

1948