Movies like Downstairs (1932)
The best movies like Downstairs (1932) are The Dark Corner (1946), Pitfall (1948) and Les Misérables (2012). If Downstairs hooked you with its 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 1,237 votes
- NewestKarma Of Life (2019)Released 2019
The Dark Corner (1946)
Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his spunky secretary, Kathleen Stewart, he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPitfall (1948)
An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLes Misérables (2012)
An adaptation of the successful stage musical based on Victor Hugo's classic novel set in 19th-century France. Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDriving Miss Daisy (1989)
The story of an old Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan and her relationship with her black chauffeur, Hoke. From an initial mere work relationship grew in 25 years a strong friendship between the two very different characters, in a time when those types of relationships were shunned.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGaslight (1944)
A newlywed fears she's going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Woman's Face (1941)
A female blackmailer with a disfiguring facial scar meets a plastic surgeon who offers her the possibility of looking like a normal woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScarlet Street (1945)
Cashier and part-time starving artist Christopher Cross is absolutely smitten with the beautiful Kitty March. Kitty plays along, but she's really only interested in Johnny, a two-bit crook. When Kitty and Johnny find out that art dealers are interested in Chris's work, they con him into letting Kitty take credit for the paintings. Cross allows it because he is in love with Kitty, but his love will only let her get away with so much.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
A police detective's violent nature keeps him from being a good cop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGlengarry Glen Ross (1992)
An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office. Unscrupulous salesmen try to hawk dubious real estate to suckers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
18th century English aristocrat Sir Percy Blakeney leads a double life. He appears to be merely the effete aristocrat, but in reality is part of an underground effort to free French nobles from Robespierre's Reign of Terror.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPaterson (2016)
A week in the life of Paterson, a poet bus driver, and his wife Laura, a very creative artist, who live in Paterson, New Jersey, hometown of many famous poets and artists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMadame X (1966)
Holly Parker, the wife of a wealthy diplomat, is compromised by the accidental death of a man who has been romantically pursuing her. She is forced by her mother-in-law to assume a new identity in order to save the reputation of her husband and infant son. She wanders the world, trying to forget her heartbreak with the aid of alcohol and unsavory men. Eventually returning to the city of her downfall, she murders a blackmailer who threatens to expose her past. Amazingly, Holly is represented at her murder trial by her now adult son, who has become a public defender. In the hope of protecting her family, she refuses to reveal her real name and is known to the court as "Madame X".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWoman of Straw (1964)
Anthony Richmond schemes to get the fortune of his tyrannical, wheelchair-using tycoon uncle Charles Richmond by persuading Maria, a nurse he employs, to marry him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Knife (1955)
Movie star Charlie Castle draws the ire of Hollywood producer Stanley Hoff when he refuses to sign a new seven-year contract. Castle is sick of the low quality of the studio's films and wants to start a new life. While his estranged wife supports him in the decision, Castle's talent agent urges him to reconsider. When Castle continues to be uncooperative, Hoff resorts to blackmail in order to get his way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Locket (1946)
A dark personal secret drives a young woman to use every man she encounters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmadeus (1984)
Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCome Back, Little Sheba (1953)
A mismatched couple's marital problems come to the surface when the husband develops an interest in their pretty boarder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlackmail (1929)
London, 1929. Frank Webber, a very busy Scotland Yard detective, seems to be more interested in his work than in Alice White, his girlfriend. Feeling herself ignored, Alice agrees to go out with an elegant and well-mannered artist who invites her to visit his fancy apartment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKroko (2003)
She is the blonde poison of the backyards, the femme fatale of the Wedding side street. Coolness hangs heavy on her eyelids. It could be mistaken for boredom - if it weren't for her tough tone of voice and her willingness to ice-coldly clear her opponents out of the way. One of her license-free joyrides results in an accident. A court orders her to do community service in a shared flat for the disabled, which she finds an imposition. But the "normalos" she lives with aren't that great either, and it seems as if Kroko finds something in the "spastics" that she lacks in her everyday life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
Terrence McDonagh is a New Orleans Police sergeant, who receives a medal and a promotion to lieutenant for heroism during Hurricane Katrina. Due to his heroic act, McDonagh injures his back and becomes addicted to prescription pain medication. He then finds himself involved with a drug dealer who is suspected of murdering a family of African immigrants.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this0.5 mm (2014)
Sawa Yamagishi worked as a nursing-care helper. The family for an old man asked Sawa to sleep with him, which led her to lose her job. Now, she has nowhere to go. Sawa finds elderly people in trouble and gets involved in their lives. Meeting them, Sawa's own wounds start to heal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Deer Hunter (1978)
Three steelworkers enlist in the army and are sent to Vietnam, one leaving behind a rushed marriage, the others a shared love. What they encounter during the war changes their lives forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Parallel Corpses (1982)
About a businessman who murders his stepdaughter after having an affair with her. A crematorium worker who secretly sells coffins to an undertaker discovers two bodies in one of the coffins one day. He suspects what has happened and tries to blackmail the murderer for money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Karma Of Life (2019)
When life puts you in a difficult situation, a hard choice must be taken, either to be the man you always wanted to be or the man you are. Just remember KARMA never loses an address.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both 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
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHochzeit auf Immenhof (1956)
The Immenhof has been closed by officials, awaiting auction. In the meantime, Angela has died, so Jochen is now a widower. Oma Jantzen and Angela's younger sisters Dick and Dalli live with him in the forester's house. In order to save the manor house, Dalli has started a "pony circus" with the village children in the barn, while Dick has given up hope of Ethelbert ever returning.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Feeling Minnesota (1996)
Sam Clayton's marriage to ex-stripper Freddie comes about when she's strong-armed into the match by Red, a club proprietor who once did her a favor. But Freddie falls in love with Jjaks, Sam's brother, and the pair tries to escape the situation together. It isn't long before both Sam and Red catch up with them, resulting in threats against the two of them -- although tension also starts to build between Sam and Red.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMuch Ado About Nothing (1993)
In this Shakespearean farce, Hero and her groom-to-be, Claudio, team up with Claudio's commanding officer, Don Pedro, the week before their wedding to hatch a matchmaking scheme. Their targets are sharp-witted duo Benedick and Beatrice -- a tough task indeed, considering their corresponding distaste for love and each other. Meanwhile, meddling Don John plots to ruin the wedding.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Downstairs?
The closest matches to Downstairs are The Dark Corner (1946), Pitfall (1948) and Les Misérables (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Downstairs?
Start with The Dark Corner (1946), the closest match to Downstairs.
What is the highest-rated movie like Downstairs?
High and Low (1963), rated 8.4/10 by 1,237 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Downstairs?
Karma Of Life (2019) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Downstairs?
Yes: The Dark Corner (1946), Pitfall (1948) and Les Misérables (2012).
How are movies similar to Downstairs chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Downstairs, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.