Movies like They Drive by Night (1940)
The best movies like They Drive by Night (1940) are Thieves' Highway (1949), The Bribe (1949) and The Web (1947). If They Drive by Night hooked you with its drama and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGun Crazy (1950)7.4/10 from 323 votes
- NewestThe Brothers Rico (1957)Released 1957
Thieves' Highway (1949)
Nick Garcos comes back from his tour of duty in World War II planning to settle down with his girlfriend, Polly Faber. He learns, however, that his father was recently beaten and burglarized by mob-connected trucker Mike Figlia, and Nick resolves to get even. He partners with prostitute Rica, and together they go after Mike, all the while getting pulled further into the local crime underworld.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bribe (1949)
United States Federal agent Rigby travels to the Central American island Carlotta to investigate a stolen aircraft engines smuggling racket.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
The 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: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCriss Cross (1949)
An armored-car guard must join a robbery after being caught with his ex-wife by her gangster husband.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDetour (1945)
The life of Al Roberts, a pianist in a New York nightclub, turns into a nightmare when he decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to visit his girlfriend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisToo Late for Tears (1949)
Through a fluke circumstance, a ruthless woman stumbles across a suitcase filled with $60,000, and is determined to hold onto it even if it means murder.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFramed (1947)
Truck driver Mike Lambert is a down-and-out mining engineer searching for a job. When his rig breaks down in a small town, he happens upon a venomous seductress. When her boyfriend robs a bank, they intend to frame Lambert.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorderline (1950)
The Los Angeles police know that Pete Ritchie has been bringing drugs into the city, but they can't pin a single piece of evidence on him. After many botched attempts to get at the crook, they resort to having cop Madeleine go undercover and seduce her way into Ritchie's circle. Before she can get anywhere, she's abducted by Johnny, a government agent posing as a thug. But Johnny and Madeleine have no idea they're on the same side of the law.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Naked Alibi (1954)
Questioned as a murder suspect, solid (but drunk) citizen Al Willis attacks his police questioners, is beaten, and swears vengeance against them. Next night, Lieut. Parks is murdered; Willis is the only suspect in the eyes of tough Chief Conroy, who pursues him doggedly despite lack of evidence. The obsessed Conroy is dismissed from the force, but continues to harass Willis, who flees to a sleazy town on the Mexican border. Of course, Conroy follows. But which is crazy, Conroy or Willis?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCity That Never Sleeps (1953)
Chicago cop Johnny Kelly, dissatisfied with his job and marriage, would like to run away with his stripper girlfriend Angel Face, but keeps getting cold feet. During one crowded night, Angel Face decides she's had enough vacillation, and crooked lawyer Biddel has an illegal mission for Johnny that could put him in a financial position to act. But other, conflicting schemes are also in progress...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Berlin Express (1948)
In post-war Europe, a diverse group of passengers aboard a U.S. Army train to bombed-out Frankfurt becomes involved in a Nazi assassination plot.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lady from Shanghai (1947)
A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHollow Triumph (1948)
Pursued by the big-time gambler he robbed, John Muller assumes a new identity—with unfortunate results.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Long Wait (1954)
Soon after thumbing a ride from a truck driver, Johnny McBride is badly burned and suffers from complete amnesia when the vehicle he’s riding in blows a tire and goes over an embankment in a fiery blaze. McBride later receives a tip from an acquaintance that a photo of him was placed prominently in the window of a photography studio in a town called Lyncastle, so Johnny immediately leaves for the burg in the hopes that something there will jog his memory.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Dead Reckoning (1946)
War heroes Rip Murdock and Johnny Drake are sent to Washington, D.C, to receive top honors for their service. Johnny, seemingly terrified by the publicity that awaits him, jumps off the train and later turns up dead. Suspecting foul play, Rip begins digging into his pal's past. He encounters cover-ups, threats to his own life and deadly femme fatale Coral Chandler.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLoan Shark (1952)
A vicious loan shark ring has been preying on factory workers. When several workers at a tire factory suffer violence at the hands of the loan sharkers, a union leader and the factory owner try to recruit ex-con Joe Gargan to infiltrate to the gang. At first Joe does not want to get involved, but changes his mind when his brother-in-law dies at the hands of a savage loan shark hood. Joe works his way into the mob, but in order to keep his cover, Joe can't tell anyone what he is up to. This results in him being disowned by his sister and girl friend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
M (1951)
In the city, someone is murdering children. The police search is so intense, it is disturbing the 'normal' criminals, and the local hoods decide to help find the murderer as quickly as possible.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Breaking Point (1950)
A fisherman with money problems hires out his boat to transport criminals.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUndertow (1949)
Undertow stars Scott Brady as a gambler just out of wartime military service. No longer interested in wagers and speculations, Brady wants only to open up a mountain vacation lodge. Before this can take place, Brady is framed for murder, and forced to hide out in the home of Peggy Dow. With the help of Dow and a policeman friend, Brady searches for the real murderer. Watch carefully in Undertow and you'll spot new Universal contractee "Roc" Hudson as a plainclothes detective.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Gun 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: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hitch-Hiker (1953)
Roy and Gilbert's fishing trip takes a terrifying turn when the hitchhiker they pick up turns out to be a sociopath on the run from the law. He's killed before, and he lets the two know that as soon as they're no longer useful, he'll kill again. The two friends plot an escape, but the hitchhiker's peculiar physical affliction, an eye that never closes even when he sleeps, makes it impossible for them to tell when they can make a break for it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJohnny O'Clock (1947)
When an employee at an illegal gambling den dies suspiciously, her sister, Nancy, looks into the situation and falls for Johnny O'Clock, a suave partner in the underground casino. Selfish and non-committal by nature, Johnny slowly begins to return Nancy's affection and decides to run away with her, but conflict within his business threatens their plans. As Johnny tries to distance himself from the casino, his shady past comes back to haunt him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRide the Pink Horse (1947)
A con man tries to blackmail a Mexican gangster.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Brothers Rico (1957)
Eddie Rico, the erstwhile bookkeeper for a big Mafia boss, is now making a living as an honest merchant in Florida with his family. Things go sour when the police start a search for his syndicate-linked brothers who are on the lam after a big hit, forcing Eddie to get involved with the Mafia again.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
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: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHuman Desire (1954)
A Korean War vet returns to his job as a railroad engineer and becomes involved in a sordid affair with a co-worker's wife following a murder on a train.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Wake Up Screaming (1941)
A young promoter is accused of the murder of Vicky Lynn, a young actress he "discovered" as a waitress while out with ex-actor Robin Ray and gossip columnist Larry Evans.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMacao (1952)
Nick Cochran, an American in exile in Macao, has a chance to restore his name by helping capture an international crime lord. Undercover, can he mislead the bad guys and still woo the attractive singer/petty crook, Julie Benson?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrashout (1955)
Convict Van Duff engineers a large-scale prison break; the six survivors hide out in a forgotten mine working near the prison, then set out on a long, dangerous journey by foot, car, train and truck to retrieve Duff's bank loot. En route, as they touch the lives of "regular folks," each has his own rendezvous with destiny.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Like They Drive by Night and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like They Drive by Night?
The closest matches to They Drive by Night are Thieves' Highway (1949), The Bribe (1949) and The Web (1947). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after They Drive by Night?
People who watched They Drive by Night most often go on to Thieves' Highway (1949), The Bribe (1949) and The Web (1947).
What is the highest-rated movie like They Drive by Night?
Gun Crazy (1950), rated 7.4/10 by 323 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like They Drive by Night?
The Brothers Rico (1957) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like They Drive by Night?
Yes: Thieves' Highway (1949), The Bribe (1949) and The Web (1947).
How are movies similar to They Drive by Night chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside They Drive by Night, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.