Strange Bargain

Nov 5, 1949

1h 8m

★ 5.7

"$10,000 If You Make My Suicide Look Like MURDER!"

Overview

Bookkeeper Sam Wilson learns from his boss, Malcolm Jarvis, that he is losing his job because the company is closing down. Jarvis then makes a strange proposition, saying he intends to commit suicide but wants Sam to make it look like a murder, in order for his wife and son to inherit Jarvis's life insurance. Sam declines, but when he goes to see Jarvis and finds his dead body, he reluctantly goes along with the scheme.

Genres

Mystery

Thriller

Production Companies

RKO Radio Pictures

Strange Bargain Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Georgia Wilson

Martha Scott

Sam Wilson

Jeffrey Lynn

Richard Webb

Harry Morgan

Edna Jarvis

Katherine Emery

Malcolm Jarvis

Richard Gaines

Timothy Hearne

Henry O'Neill

Sergeant Cord

Walter Sande

Roddy Wilson

Michael Chapin

Hilda Wilson

Arlene Gray

Sydney Jarvis

Raymond Roe

Detective McTay

Robert Bray

Tip (uncredited)

Dan Foster

In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they begin to fall for one another, Alicia is instructed to win the affections of Alexander Sebastian, a Nazi hiding out in Brazil. When Sebastian becomes serious about his relationship with Alicia, the stakes get higher, and Devlin must watch her slip further undercover.

8.0

North by Northwest

Aug 6, 1959

Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.

7.9

Rebecca

Mar 23, 1940

Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.

7.7

The Killing

Jun 6, 1956

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.

7.3

The 39 Steps

Jun 6, 1935

Richard Hanney has a rude awakening when a glamorous female spy falls into his bed - with a knife in her back. Having a bit of trouble explaining it all to Scotland Yard, he heads for the hills of Scotland to try to clear his name by locating the spy ring known as The 39 Steps.

5.5

The Night Holds Terror

Jul 13, 1955

A group of escaped convicts holds a household prisoner as the police close in.

6.5

Union Station

Oct 4, 1950

Police catch a break when suspected kidnappers are spotted on a train heading towards Union Station. Police, train station security and a witness try to piece together the crime and get back the blind daughter of a rich business man.

6.5

Caught

Feb 17, 1949

Wide-eyed and poor young Leonora weds an obsessive millionaire named Ohlrig, but the marriage is loveless. Even worse, Ohlrig seems to have manic, violent tendencies. Eventually, young Leonora escapes her unhappy life and begins working with New York City doctor Larry Quinada, who she soon falls for. Unfortunately, Ohlrig refuses to grant his wife a divorce, and things get even darker for Leonora when she realizes she's pregnant with his child.

7.3

Odd Man Out

Jan 30, 1947

Belfast police conduct a door-to-door manhunt for an IRA gunman wounded in a daring robbery.

6.6

Railroaded!

Sep 25, 1947

A beautician and her crooked boyfriend attempt to rob the bookie operation located in the back room, but when the plan goes wrong, they frame an innocent man.

5.8

The Dark Past

Dec 22, 1948

A gang hold a family hostage in their own home. The leader of the escaped cons is bothered by a recurring dream that the doctor of the house may be able to analyze.

7.4

Panic

Jan 15, 1947

Proud, eccentric, and antisocial, Monsieur Hire has always kept to himself. But after a woman turns up dead in the Paris suburb where he lives, he feels drawn to a pretty young newcomer to town and discovers that his neighbors are only too ready to suspect the worst of him.

6.2

The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry

Aug 17, 1945

George Sanders stars in this engrossing melodrama about a very domineering sister who holds a tight grip on her brother -- especially when he shows signs of falling in love.

10.0

Night Creatures

Sep 19, 2025

After serving his prison sentence, Dylan wants to cut ties with his past. However, because of an outstanding debt, he is forced into a final break-in at the popular Brasserie Papillon. There he meets the mysterious Margot. Their meeting unintentionally puts each other's fate in their hands. But neither considers Tonio, Papillon's flamboyant waiter. Their paths cross during 1 dramatic night that will change their lives forever.

2.7

Pimeys odottaa

Mar 8, 1985

Matti Mäki is a young man who gets involved with a corrupt police man seeking proof that his wife, a night club singer, is cheating on him in this film noir style thriller.

7.7

White Heat

Sep 2, 1949

A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take a crazy turn.

7.2

An Inspector Calls

Mar 16, 1954

An upper-crust family dinner is interrupted by a police inspector who brings news that a girl known to everyone present has died in suspicious circumstances. It seems that any or all of them could have had a hand in her death. But who is the mysterious Inspector and what can he want of them?

5.7

Assassination of a High School President

Jan 17, 2008

After the theft of copies of SAT exams from a principal's office, teenage reporter Bobby Funke sets out to unmask the thief.

6.9

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

Aug 19, 1950

Ralph Cotter, a ruthless criminal, escapes violently from a farm prison. Then, he seduces a dead inmate’s sister, gets back quickly into the crime business, faces corrupt local cops who run the city’s underworld and meets a powerful tycoon’s whimsical daughter.