Sally Payne

Sally Payne

Born: September 5, 1912
Died: May 8, 1999
in Chicago, Illinois, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sally Payne (September 5, 1912 – May 8, 1999) was an American actress. She featured in several B-Westerns in the 1940s.

Payne made her first film in 1935, appearing in a bit part. She became a leading actress in B films, usually westerns. She also played in comedy shorts for RKO Radio Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She is most remembered for her performance as Calamity Jane in the Roy Rogers western Young Bill Hickok (1940), as well as acting the role of Belle Starr in Robin Hood of the Pecos (1941), where her performing style echoed that of a contemporary, Una Merkel. Just before her association with Rogers ended, her status had enlarged from a supporting-role character to that of first-billed actress.

Payne's characters were usually the tomboy type, often helping men rather than being dependent on them. She frequently wore men's clothing, carried a weapon, drove stagecoaches and rode horses. Her male associates identified strongly with her ability to survive a rough environment like the Old West frontier, but she was never the object of male fantasies. Rarely did Payne's characters become physically intimate with her masculine counterparts; thus if she were called on to display affection of any sort, the relationships never went beyond the strictly platonic. Thus, her persona was that of a female sidekick, but never a lover.

After Payne left acting, she ran her own book store and worked as an artist, creating oil paintings for her family and her friends and illustrating a series of children's books.

Payne retired from films in 1942 after her marriage to Arthur F. Kelly, an executive for Western Airlines.

On May 8, 1999, she died in Los Angeles of a stroke at the age of 86.

Movies for Sally Payne...

Ain't It Aggravatin'
Title: Ain't It Aggravatin'
Character: Frugal Man's Wife (uncredited)
Released: February 6, 1954
Type: Movie
This comedic short looks at human foibles that lead to major aggravations.
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Cash Stashers
Title: Cash Stashers
Character: The Wife (uncredited)
Released: August 29, 1953
Type: Movie
This Pete Smith Specialty short shows, humorously, the disastrous results when people save their money in unsafe places.
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Title: The Adventures of Kit Carson
Released: August 11, 1951
Type: TV
The Adventures of Kit Carson is an American Western series that aired in syndication from August 1951 to November 1955, originally sponsored by Coca-Cola. It stars Bill Williams in the title role as frontier scout Christopher "Kit" Carson. Don Diamond co-starred as "El Toro", Carson's Mexican companion.
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Bargain Madness
Title: Bargain Madness
Character: Sally (uncredited)
Released: July 4, 1951
Type: Movie
In this comedic Pete Smith Specialty short, women battle for bargains in a department store.
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Mountain Rhythm
Title: Mountain Rhythm
Character: Fanniebelle Weaver
Released: January 8, 1943
Type: Movie
The Weaver family buys some farmland in California, but the headmaster of a nearby boys school doesn't want them as neighbors, and before long the boys at the school are causing trouble for the Weavers.
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Cooks and Crooks
Title: Cooks and Crooks
Character: Sally Kennedy
Released: June 5, 1942
Type: Movie
A client offers mail-order private detective Edgar $5,000 for finding $50,000 in a kitchen wall of a residence he claims to own.
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Romance on the Range
Title: Romance on the Range
Character: Sally
Released: May 18, 1942
Type: Movie
Fur theives are looting the traps on the ranch where Roy is foreman and they have murdered one of Roy's friends.
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Soaring Stars
Title: Soaring Stars
Character: Autograph Seeker
Released: April 25, 1942
Type: Movie
Two autograph hounds attend an air show at Santa Anita racetrack.
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Man from Cheyenne
Title: Man from Cheyenne
Character: Sally Evans
Released: January 16, 1942
Type: Movie
Roy is a government man assigned to a case of cattle rustling in the part of the country where he grew up, unaware that the leader of the gang is a woman, in fact an old flame.
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A Quiet Fourth
Title: A Quiet Fourth
Character: Sally Kennedy
Released: December 19, 1941
Type: Movie
Edgar decides the 4th of July fireworks celebration in town is too much for his nerves, and he and his wife Sally and her brother will take a nice drive out into the countryside and have a nice, peaceful picnic. His first mistake is inviting the sons of his neighbor to go with them, and his second is picking an Army artillery firing range as the location of the picnic.
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Red River Valley
Title: Red River Valley
Character: Sally Whittaker
Released: December 12, 1941
Type: Movie
To bring water to their valley, ranchers have raised money to build a dam. When that money is stolen, Allison suggests the ranchers sell their stock to a friend of his thereby getting the money needed to complete the dam. Roy has a clue that Allison was involved in the robbery and is out to get control of the valley. So Roy and the boys try to delay the sale of the stock while they look for proof against Allison.
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Tuxedo Junction
Title: Tuxedo Junction
Character: Pansy Weaver
Released: November 25, 1941
Type: Movie
The Weaver Brothers and Elviry have migrated from their usual hard-scrabble digs in the Ozarks and have taken up truck-farming.
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Jesse James at Bay
Title: Jesse James at Bay
Character: Polly Morgan
Released: October 17, 1941
Type: Movie
When Jesse learns that Krager is cheating settlers, he and his gang rob trains to obtain money for them to purchase their land. Krager, finding a Jesse look alike in Burns, hires him to wreck havoc on the ranchers. When Jesse kills Burns he switches clothes and goes after the culprits.
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I'll Fix It
Title: I'll Fix It
Character: Sally
Released: October 7, 1941
Type: Movie
Edgar decides to do a home plumbing job himself.
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Westward Ho-Hum
Title: Westward Ho-Hum
Character: Sally
Released: September 15, 1941
Type: Movie
Edgar, his wife and his brother-in-law are riding through the desert in a convertible to see a restaurant that Edgar has purchased sight unseen. They camp in a ghost town and Edgar sees a "Gold Nugget Restaurant" sign and it dawns on him that is his purchase. Inside, Edgar runs into two outlaws who force him to drive them to the next town. Unknown to Edgar, Sally lassos the renegades out of the back seat, while Edgar drives on in his (usual) blissful state of ignorance.
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Bad Man of Deadwood
Title: Bad Man of Deadwood
Character: 'Princess' Sally Blackstone
Released: September 5, 1941
Type: Movie
Roy and Gabby fight bad guys to save the town of Deadwood.
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Nevada City
Title: Nevada City
Character: Jo Morrison
Released: June 19, 1941
Type: Movie
The conflict between a railroader and a stage line owner is being aggravated by bad guys who are sabotaging both sides. Roy and Gabby mediate the conflict and expose the bad guys.
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Sheriff of Tombstone
Title: Sheriff of Tombstone
Character: Queenie Whittaker, aka Queenie LaTour
Released: May 7, 1941
Type: Movie
The mayor has sent for a gunslinger who, though appearing to clean up the town, is really to be the mayor's means of taking the town over. When Roy and Gabby arrive in Tombstone, Roy is mistaken for the gunslinger. Just as Roy is ready to expose the mayor, the real gunslinger shows up.
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The Lady from Cheyenne
Title: The Lady from Cheyenne
Character: Chorus Girl
Released: April 11, 1941
Type: Movie
Fictionalized story of the 1869 adoption of women's suffrage in Wyoming Territory. In the new-founded railroad town of Laraville, Boss Jim Cork hopes to manipulate the sale of town lots to give him control, but Quaker schoolmarm Annie Morgan bags one of the key lots. Cork's lawyer Steve Lewis tries romancing Annie to get the lot back, finding her so overpoweringly liberated she leaves him dizzy. Still, Steve attains his nefarious object...almost...then has cause to deeply regret having aroused the sleeping giant of feminism!
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In Old Cheyenne
Title: In Old Cheyenne
Character: 'Squeak' Brown
Released: April 4, 1941
Type: Movie
Roy is a newspaper reporter. He goes to Cheyenne to cover the activities of supposed bad guy Arapahoe Brown. Roy, of course, discovers who the real bad guy is.
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Robin Hood of the Pecos
Title: Robin Hood of the Pecos
Character: Belle Starr
Released: January 14, 1941
Type: Movie
Robin Hood of the Pecos is a 1941 American film starring Roy Rogers and directed by Joseph Kane. Following the Civil War, the South still faced many dangers not the least of which were the armies of carpetbaggers that descended on impoverished towns, intent on making a fast greenback at the expense of the local populace.
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No, No, Nanette
Title: No, No, Nanette
Character: Maid
Released: December 19, 1940
Type: Movie
Perky young Nanette attempts to save the marriage of her uncle and aunt by untangling Uncle Jimmy from several innocent but ensnaring flirtations. Attempting one such unentanglement, Nanette enlists the help of theatrical producer Bill Trainor, who promptly falls in love with her. The same thing happens when artist Tom Gillespie is called on for help. But soon Uncle Jimmy's flirtations become too numerous, and Nanette's romances with Tom and Bill run into trouble. Will Uncle Jimmy's marriage survive, and will Nanette find happiness with Tom, Bill, or somebody else?
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One Night in the Tropics
Title: One Night in the Tropics
Character: Woman with Second Man Polled by Jim (uncredited)
Released: November 15, 1940
Type: Movie
Jim "Lucky" Moore, an insurance salesman, comes up with a novel policy for his friend, Steve: a 'love insurance policy', that will pay out $1-million if Steve does not marry his fiancée, Cynthia. The upcoming marriage is jeopardized by Steve's ex-girlfriend, Mickey, and Cynthia's disapproving Aunt Kitty. The policy is underwritten by a nightclub owner, Roscoe, who sends two enforcers - Abbott and Costello - to ensure that the wedding occurs as planned.
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Wedding Bills
Title: Wedding Bills
Character: Bride-to-be (uncredited)
Released: November 13, 1940
Type: Movie
Another in the long series of "Pete Smith" shorts from M-G-M in which William Newell meets and falls in love with Sally Payne, and begins to budget for their plans to get married. His budget, alas, does not include nor anticipate the plans of Sally and her parents. This short was reissued in June of 1950 to be shown as a trailer with 1950's "Father of the Bride" and some sources think this short was made for that express purpose and date it as a 1950 film.
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Rodeo Dough
Title: Rodeo Dough
Character: Sally
Released: November 9, 1940
Type: Movie
After a trip to Hollywood, two young ladies attempt to hitchhike home but end up at a star-filled rodeo.
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Young Bill Hickok
Title: Young Bill Hickok
Character: Miss 'Calamity' Jane Canary
Released: October 21, 1940
Type: Movie
Bill Hickok, assisted by Calamity Jane, is after a foreign agent and his guerrilla band who are trying to take over some western territory just as the Civil War is coming to a close.
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City for Conquest
Title: City for Conquest
Character: Singer (uncredited)
Released: September 21, 1940
Type: Movie
The heartbreaking but hopeful tale of Danny Kenny and Peggy Nash, two sweethearts who meet and struggle through their impoverished lives in New York City. When Peggy, hoping for something better in life for both of them, breaks off her engagement to Danny, he sets out to be a championship boxer, while she becomes a dancer paired with a sleazy partner. Will tragedy reunite the former lovers?
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When the Daltons Rode
Title: When the Daltons Rode
Character: Annabella
Released: August 23, 1940
Type: Movie
Young lawyer Tod Jackson arrives in pioneer Kansas to visit his prosperous rancher friends the Daltons, just as the latter are in danger of losing their land to a crooked development company. When Tod tries to help them, a faked murder charge turns the Daltons into outlaws, but more victims than villains in this fictionalized version. Will Tod stay loyal to his friends despite falling in love with Bob Dalton's former fiancée Julie?
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Money and the Woman
Title: Money and the Woman
Character: Mrs. Jones (uncredited)
Released: August 17, 1940
Type: Movie
An embezzler's wife begs his boss for forgiveness, only to fall in love with him.
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I Love You Again
Title: I Love You Again
Character: Salesgirl (uncredited)
Released: August 9, 1940
Type: Movie
Boring businessman Larry Wilson recovers from amnesia and discovers he's really a con man...and loves his soon-to-be-ex wife.
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Bested by a Beard
Title: Bested by a Beard
Character: Maisie
Released: July 16, 1940
Type: Movie
Leon Errol disguises himself as a mystic, in order to fool repo men.
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La Conga Nights
Title: La Conga Nights
Character: Lucy Endover
Released: May 31, 1940
Type: Movie
In this comedy, actor Hugh Herbert plays six different roles. Only one of the roles is a man. The story centers around a dizzy music lover, who has grown rich through real estate deals. Also figuring in the story are a cab driver/performer, and a down-on-her-luck, aspiring singer. They meet when she hails his cab as she skips out on her former boarding house because she cannot pay rent.
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The Domineering Male
Title: The Domineering Male
Character: Gertrude 'Gertie' (uncredited)
Released: March 30, 1940
Type: Movie
This Pete Smith Specialty short looks at the notion that a man chases a woman till he catches her. Who's really chasing whom?
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The Amazing Mr. Williams
Title: The Amazing Mr. Williams
Character: Jean - Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Released: November 22, 1939
Type: Movie
Kenny Williams, a lieutenant on the homicide squad, is engaged to Maxine Carroll, the Mayor's secretary. Or isn't he rather married with his job? For each time he has a date with his longtime fiancée, he is prevented from keeping it by his devotion to duty. Maxine, in desperation, decides to take action and bring Kenny to the altar. Who will win, Maxine's curves or the glorious fight against crime?
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Blondie Brings Up Baby
Title: Blondie Brings Up Baby
Character: Young Woman (uncredited)
Released: November 8, 1939
Type: Movie
Baby Dumpling, the six-year-old son of Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead disappears from sight during his first day at school. While Dagwood frantically combs the city in search of the boy, Baby Dumpling spents a nice, safe afternoon with poor little rich girl Melinda Mason, who with her new playmate's help arises from her sickbed to walk across the room for the first time in months.
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Let's Talk Turkey
Title: Let's Talk Turkey
Character: Abner's Wife
Released: October 28, 1939
Type: Movie
It's Thanksgiving. Newlywed husband Abner Poodlebean faces the turkey his wife has prepared: she wants him to carve it at the table in front of her scowling family, and Abner has no idea how to proceed. The film's narrator has us cut away to the kitchen of chef M.O. Cullen who demonstrates the proper way to carve the bird, spoon out the stuffing, and lay out the platter. Back to Abner, who's missed Cullen's lesson, so he makes a fine mess. Can this marriage survive?
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Set 'em Up
Title: Set 'em Up
Character: Girl Bowler
Released: October 6, 1939
Type: Movie
Five years after he narrated STRIKES AND SPARES, Pete Smith returns to the subject of bowling with two pros: Andy Varipapa, who threw some trick shots in the earlier movie and Ned Day, who demonstrates proper form and technique.
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Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
Title: Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
Character: Sally
Released: September 2, 1939
Type: Movie
Two starstruck visitors to Hollywood sneak into the famous nightclub and end up in a Conga contest and get more than they expected.
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My Wife's Relatives
Title: My Wife's Relatives
Character: Lizzie
Released: May 20, 1939
Type: Movie
It all begins when Joe Higgins, business manager of a prosperous candy-manufacturing firm, is ordered by his pompous boss Ellis to break up the romance between Ellis' son Bill and Joe's daughter Jean. Refusing, Joe quits his job and sets up his own candy company. It's a money-losing enterprise until Joe's wife Lil loses her diamond ring in a batch of candy and offers a $5000 reward to anyone who can retrieve the ring.
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Hollywood Hobbies
Title: Hollywood Hobbies
Character: Tourist
Released: May 3, 1939
Type: Movie
In this short film, two starstruck movie fans hire a tour guide and see a plethora of Hollywood stars.
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Blondie Meets the Boss
Title: Blondie Meets the Boss
Character: Mrs. Williams (uncredited)
Released: March 8, 1939
Type: Movie
Dagwood inadvertently gets cornered in to resigning. When his wife Blondie tries to ask Dagwoods boss Mr. Dithers for his job back, he ends up hiring her instead. This doesn't sit too well with Dagwood. Blondie's sister comes to visit, and Dagwood is put in a compromising situation with another woman.
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Man from Music Mountain
Title: Man from Music Mountain
Character: Patsy
Released: August 15, 1938
Type: Movie
Scanlon is pulling off a land swindle by selling lots in a ghost town claiming the power company is bringing in a line. As a bonus he throws in shares in a worthless gold mine. Gene is on to Scanlon and tries to get him to buy back the deeds by salting the mine with gold. But when a new vein is really discovered Gene has to stop the sales but is trapped in the mine by Scanlon's men.
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The Higgins Family
Title: The Higgins Family
Character: Lizzie
Released: March 28, 1938
Type: Movie
Pa Higgins' attempts at success in the advertising business are constantly frustrated by his eccentric family.
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Exiled to Shanghai
Title: Exiled to Shanghai
Character: Mabel
Released: December 20, 1937
Type: Movie
A fired cameraman by way of a girl's mistaken identity wins back his job through pioneering work in television.
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The Big Show
Title: The Big Show
Character: Toodles Brown
Released: November 16, 1936
Type: Movie
At the Texas Centennial in Dallas Autry confuses two girls by being himself and his own stunt double. When cowboy star Tom Ford disappears, Wilson gets his double Gene Autry to impersonate him. But Ford owes gangster Rico $10,000 and Rico arrives to collect. He fails to get the money but learns that Autry is an impersonator and now blackmails Wilson and his movie studio. Original version runs 71 minutes, edited version runs 59 minutes.