Movies like Limelight (2026)
The best movies like Limelight (2026) are The Quiller Memorandum (1966), Time Without Pity (1957) and Each Dawn I Die (1939). If Limelight hooked you with its thriller and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedOdd Man Out (1947)7.3/10 from 237 votes
- NewestOscar Shaw (2026)Released 2026
The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisTime Without Pity (1957)
Alec Graham is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend Jennie, with whom he spent a weekend at the English country home of the parents of his friend Brian Stanford. Alec’s father, David Graham, a not-so-successful writer and alcoholic who has neglected his son in the past, flies in from Canada to visit his son on death row. David then goes on a quest to try and clear his son’s name while battling “the bottle.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 & thriller
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 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 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 & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Young Savages (1961)
A district attorney investigates the racially charged case of three teenagers accused of the murder of a blind Puerto Rican boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOdd Man Out (1947)
Belfast police conduct a door-to-door manhunt for an IRA gunman wounded in a daring robbery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this5 Against the House (1955)
Former war-time Army buddies now students in college decide to rip off a Reno casino.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPerfect Sisters (2014)
Tired of their mother's alcoholism and a string of her abusive boyfriends, two sisters plot to kill her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies 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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Lamp (1950)
P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also anachronistic, unprepared and unable to answer the violence of the 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIndemnity (2022)
An ex-fireman with PTSD goes on the run when accused of a crime he doesn't even remember committing, leading him down a rabbit hole of conspiracy to the highest degree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mirror Crack'd (1980)
Jane Marple solves the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeeds of Yesterday (2015)
The Sheffield family reveal and go through some home truths as their middle child inherits the Foxworth mansion. The family's ghosts looming over, and more tragedies are in store as the curse lives on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlunder Road (1957)
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCigarettes & Coffee (1993)
At a desert diner, the lives of five strangers become linked through a single twenty-dollar bill. Shot for $20,000 and starring Philip Baker Hall, the short premiered at Sundance and later inspired Anderson’s debut feature Hard Eight (1996).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan in the Shadow (1957)
In a modern cow town, the powerful ranch owner’s henchmen kill a ranch hand, prompting the sheriff to investigate despite facing strong opposition. He finds an unlikely ally in the rancher's overprotected daughter, but their quest for justice puts them both in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLimelight (2022)
After failing an audition, a self-conscious actress finds herself in a terrifying role.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
The Hundred Voices of Harry Hoffman (2024)
The world's premiere voice actor and animator, known as "The Man with 99 Voices" has gone silent. In an attempt to break into the business, aspiring voice actor Claire Flores must coax the reclusive Harry Hoffman out of retirement. She quickly learns of his sinister secret, a horrifying hundredth voice dead set on getting Harry back into the limelight.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Vera (2022)
Vera has young woman as the main heroine, who is in the jaws of the war spy network in WW2 and also of the patriarchal society in the Balkans with full of powerful, arrogant men with whom she deals bravely and arrogantly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
In letzter Sekunde (2008)
The plan seems to be working. The beautiful policewoman takes up a position in Deniz's company and quickly gains the trust and affection of her young compatriot. Gradually, she learns details about the planned attack from Deniz, who is actually in contact with fanatical Islamists, including German Muslim converts. And she gets to know the head of the group, the shady Abu "Ayman" Gallaz. But Yasemin can't fool him. Ayman immediately starts his own investigations. When his suspicions are confirmed and he is certain that Deniz has been seduced by an undercover agent, he skillfully exploits this knowledge. He lures the police onto the wrong track with targeted false information and gives Deniz the job of eliminating Yasemin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Spotless (2024)
Gloria sneaks into a stranger's house and examines every corner until she finds what she is looking for. The excitement of the dirt and chaos around her produces a rhythmic orgasm.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Apagada (2024)
Sonia is turning 53. To celebrate, she is preparing to bake a cake to enjoy with her family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Orfeo (2022)
After the death of his wife, Gabriel Barragán stays at the house of his in-laws. The decision of what to do with the ashes of the deceased generates conflict between Barragán and his father-in-law.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Golden Wings of Watercocks (2022)
‘The Golden Wings of Watercocks’ is a feature film based on the lives, livelihoods and battle for survival of the marginalized peasants and landless farmhands, living in the haor (marshland) areas of Bangladesh, who are historically trapped in poverty formed by the confluence of social exploitation and climate injustice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Only one night (2022)
Tamer has a one night stand. He never sees the woman he was with again. His wife, Begüm, becomes suspicious of his behavior and makes him confess his crime. Tamer begs for forgiveness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jane Eyre (1949)
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meets the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Edward Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Limelight?
The closest matches to Limelight are The Quiller Memorandum (1966), Time Without Pity (1957) and Each Dawn I Die (1939). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Limelight?
Start with The Quiller Memorandum (1966), the closest match to Limelight.
What is the highest-rated movie like Limelight?
Odd Man Out (1947), rated 7.3/10 by 237 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Limelight?
Oscar Shaw (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Limelight?
Yes: The Quiller Memorandum (1966), Time Without Pity (1957) and Each Dawn I Die (1939).
How are movies similar to Limelight chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Limelight, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.