Movies like Chains (1949)
The best movies like Chains (1949) are Cry of the City (1948), Nostalgia (2022) and Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954). If Chains hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHigh and Low (1963)8.4/10 from 1,233 votes
- NewestLast Night of Amore (2023)Released 2023
- In ItalianNostalgia (2022)Also in Italian
Cry of the City (1948)
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNostalgia (2022)
Felice returns to his native Rione Sanità in Naples to look after his dying mother, having lived abroad for the last forty years. Here he discovers that his old friend Oreste has become a notorious crimeboss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Swindle (1955)
Aging small-time conman Augusto works with two younger men: Roberto, who desires to become the Italian Johnny Ray, and Carlo, nicknamed Picasso. Through a series of mishaps and personal entanglements, things go badly for Augusto.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKiller's Kiss (1955)
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
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 thisBrute Force (1947)
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMildred Pierce (1945)
A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Big Combo (1955)
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
A mystery writer is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose dead body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, in order to learn more about the man. Along the way he is joined by the mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo One Would Tell (1996)
Shy sixteen-year-old Stacy Collins can't believe that the most popular guy in school, an attractive athlete named Bobby Tennison, is interested in her. At first she is flattered by his constant attention, but then he becomes possessive and jealous-telling her who she can speak to and what she can wear. Threats escalate into violence when Bobby thinks Stacy has stepped out of line. Soon she is walking on egg shells and living in fear. Having seen the tell-tale bruises, Stacy's best friend convinces her to break things off with Bobby-but in a moment of weakness, Stacy goes to meet him. It will be the last time she is seen alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrime Novel (2005)
After serving prison time for a juvenile offense, Freddo gathers his old buddies Libano and Dandi and embarks on a crime spree that makes the trio the most powerful gangsters in Rome. Libano loves their new status, and seeks to spread their influence throughout the underworld, while the other two pursue more fleshly desires. For decades, their gang perpetrates extravagant crimes, until paranoia threatens to split the friends apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPalermo - Milan One Way (1996)
A mob accountant accepts to be witness for the prosecution at a trial involving Mafia higher-ups. Seven cops are tasked with escorting him and his family alive from Sicily to the courtroom in the North, but it won't be easy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightfall (1956)
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Night of Amore (2023)
On the night before retirement, police lieutenant Amore is called to investigate the off-duty death of his longtime partner, who fell prey of an illegal scheme Amore himself was secretly part of.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLike Blood (2019)
Cliff is the leader of an enterprise he runs with his two best friends. His time in the life has taken a toll and he's eager to run away with his girlfriend Stephanie. They have a plan, but things take a dark twisted turn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
High and Low (1963)
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAn Inspector Calls (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?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGun Crazy (1950)
Bart Tare, an ex-Army man who has a lifelong fixation with guns, meets a kindred spirit in sharpshooter Annie Starr and goes to work at a carnival alongside her. After upsetting the carnival owner who lusts after Starr, they both get fired. Soon, at Starr's behest, the couple embarks on a crime spree for cash.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Letter (1940)
After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Garment Jungle (1957)
Alan Mitchell returns to New York to work for his father Walter, the owner of a fashion house that designs and manufactures dresses. To stay non-union, Walter has hired Artie Ravidge, a hood who uses strong-arm tactics to keep the employees in line.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Party Girl (1958)
Slick lawyer Thomas Farrell has made a career of defending mobsters in trials. It's not until he meets a lovely showgirl at a mob party that he realizes that there's more to life than winning trials. Farrell tries to quit the racket, but mob boss Rico Angelo threatens to hurt the showgirl if Farrell leaves him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Girl's Confession (1953)
Cleo Moore stars as Mary Adams, whose first step on the road to ruin is a $25,000 robbery. Mary hides the money, then confesses to the crime, secure in the belief that she can dig up the loot upon her release from prison.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Alphaville (1965)
Lemmy Caution is on a mission to eliminate Professor Von Braun, the creator of a malevolent computer that rules the city of Alphaville. Befriended by the scientist’s daughter Natasha, Lemmy must unravel the mysteries of the strictly logical Alpha 60 and teach Natasha the meaning of the word “love.”
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDick Tracy (1990)
The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Chains?
The closest matches to Chains are Cry of the City (1948), Nostalgia (2022) and Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Chains?
Start with Cry of the City (1948), the closest match to Chains.
What is the highest-rated movie like Chains?
High and Low (1963), rated 8.4/10 by 1,233 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Chains?
Last Night of Amore (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Chains?
Yes: Nostalgia (2022), The Swindle (1955) and Crime Novel (2005).
How are movies similar to Chains chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Chains, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.