Movies like Murder in the Big House (1942)
The best movies like Murder in the Big House (1942) are Supercross (2005), Sahara (1983) and Absence of Malice (1981). If Murder in the Big House hooked you with its action and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Short Film About Killing (1988)7.6/10 from 420 votes
- NewestOscar Shaw (2026)Released 2026
Supercross (2005)
Faced with the suspicious death of their father, two brothers must motivate one another to get back on their bikes and take the Las Vegas Motocross Championships by storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSahara (1983)
Intent on winning a competition in place of her distinguished late father, beautiful young heiress Dale takes on the guise of a man and competes in his spot, embarking on a car race that crosses the unforgiving Sahara desert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisAbsence of Malice (1981)
Megan Carter is a reporter duped into running an untrue story on Michael Gallagher, a suspected racketeer. He has an alibi for the time his crime was allegedly committed—but it involves an innocent party. When he tells Carter the truth and the newspaper runs it, tragedy follows, forcing Carter to face up to the responsibilities of her job when she is confronted by Gallagher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou Only Live Once (1937)
Based partially on the story of Bonnie and Clyde, Eddie Taylor is an ex-convict who cannot get a break after being released from prison. When he is framed for murder, Taylor is forced to flee with his wife Joan Graham and baby. While escaping prison after being sentenced to death, Taylor becomes a real murderer, condemning himself and Joan to a life of crime and death on the road.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey Live by Night (1949)
An escaped convict, injured during a robbery, falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnderworld (1927)
Boisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStrange Cargo (1940)
Convicts escaping from Devil's Island come under the influence of a strange Christ-like figure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYield to the Night (1956)
Locked in her cell, a murderer reflects on the events that have led her to death row.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Made Me a Fugitive (1947)
After being framed for a policeman's murder, a criminal escapes prison and sets out for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe File on Thelma Jordon (1949)
Cleve Marshall, an assistant district attorney, falls for Thelma Jordon, a mysterious woman with a troubled past. When Thelma becomes a suspect in her aunt's murder, Cleve tries to clear her name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Naked City (1948)
After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWitness to Murder (1954)
A woman fights to convince the police that she witnessed a murder while looking out her bedroom window.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2017)
Librarian and real crime buff Aurora “Roe” Teagarden never liked Detective Sergeant Jack Burns, but she also never wanted to see him dead. When his body is found outside of Aurora’s home, she then becomes the main suspect. Determined to find the killer and clear her name, Aurora can't help but to get involved once again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Damned Don't Cry (1950)
Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOscar Shaw (2026)
After retiring from the police force, a relentless detective haunted by the tragic loss of his closest friend sets out on a perilous quest for vengeance, seeking redemption and fighting to restore justice to the streets he once swore to protect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Web (1947)
A brash young lawyer takes a short-term, high-paying job as bodyguard for a slick business exec being threatened by a former partner, and quickly realizes he may be in over his head.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder in Three Acts (1986)
In Acapulco, Hercule Poirot attends a dinner party in which one of the guests clutches his throat and suddenly dies. The causes seem to be natural until another party with most of the same guests produces another corpse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery: A Case Of Murder (2017)
Jenn buys an old reel-to-reel recorder at a garage sale only to find that it includes the sound of a man pleading for his life. When the former owner of the recorder, a retired therapist, is found murdered in a patient’s apartment, Jenn’s investigation leads to other patients whose love lives are more entangled than she was first led to believe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey Won't Believe Me (1947)
On trial for murdering his girlfriend, philandering stockbroker Larry Ballentine takes the stand to claim his innocence and describe the actual, but improbable sounding, sequence of events that led to her death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarked for Death (1990)
Just retired from the Drug Enforcement Agency, John Hatcher returns to his hometown and quickly discovers that drugs have infiltrated his old neighborhood. Determined to drive the dealers out, Hatcher crosses paths with a ferocious Jamaican drug lord who vows that Hatcher and his family are now marked for death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dead Pool (1988)
Dirty Harry Callahan returns for his final film adventure. Together with his partner Al Quan, he must investigate the systematic murder of prominent figures. By the time Harry learns that the murders are part of a sick game to predict such deaths, it may be too late.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRavenous (1999)
After arriving at his new, remote Army outpost, Capt. John Boyd and his regiment aid a wounded frontiersman who recounts a horrifying tale of a wagon train murdered by its supposed guide – a vicious U.S. Army colonel gone rogue. Fearing the worst, the regiment heads out into the wilderness to verify the gruesome claims.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalf Past Dead (2002)
A man goes undercover in a hi-tech prison to find out information to help prosecute those who killed his wife. While there, he stumbles onto a plot involving a death-row inmate and his $200 million stash of gold.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisWall Street (1987)
A young and impatient stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider, who takes the youth under his wing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHenry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Client (1994)
A street-wise kid, Mark Sway, sees the suicide of Jerome Clifford, a prominent Louisiana lawyer, whose current client is Barry 'The Blade' Muldano, a Mafia hit-man. Before Jerome shoots himself, he tells Mark where the body of a Senator is buried. Clifford shoots himself and Mark is found at the scene, and both the FBI and the Mafia quickly realize that Mark probably knows more than he says.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Short Film About Killing (1988)
Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Corner (1997)
An American attorney on business in China, ends up wrongfully on trial for murder and his only key to innocence is a female defense lawyer from the country.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFallen (1998)
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Murder in the Big House and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Murder in the Big House?
The closest matches to Murder in the Big House are Supercross (2005), Sahara (1983) and Absence of Malice (1981). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Murder in the Big House?
Start with Supercross (2005), the closest match to Murder in the Big House.
What is the highest-rated movie like Murder in the Big House?
A Short Film About Killing (1988), rated 7.6/10 by 420 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Murder in the Big House?
Oscar Shaw (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Murder in the Big House?
Yes: Supercross (2005), Sahara (1983) and Absence of Malice (1981).
How are movies similar to Murder in the Big House chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Murder in the Big House, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.