Movies like Numbered Men (1930)
The best movies like Numbered Men (1930) are The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Big House (1930) and The Unforgivable (2021). If Numbered Men 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 ratedThe Shawshank Redemption (1994)8.7/10 from 31,804 votes
- NewestWasteman (2026)Released 2026
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Big House (1930)
Convicted of manslaughter for a drunken driving accident, Kent Marlowe is sent to prison, where he meets vicious incarcerated figures who are planning an escape from the brutal conditions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unforgivable (2021)
A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Valachi Papers (1972)
When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
Brash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWasteman (2026)
Taylor's hopes for a fresh start post-parole are jeopardised by cellmate Dee's arrival. As Dee takes Taylor under his wing, a vicious attack tests their bond, forcing Taylor to choose between protecting Dee and his own chances at freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLock Up (1989)
Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after his administration was publicly humiliated by Leone, and has now arrived on the scene to ensure that Leone never sees the light of day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCool Hand Luke (1967)
When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShe Made Them Do It (2012)
"She Made Them Do It" follows the twisted life of Sarah Pender, a charismatic, intelligent young woman who would become one of the country’s most sought after fugitives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrubaker (1980)
The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Perfect World (1993)
A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor: an escaped convict on the run from the law, headed by an honorable U.S. Marshal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Chase (1966)
The escape of Bubber Reeves from prison affects the inhabitants of a small Southern town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLadies They Talk About (1933)
A moll, imprisoned after participating in a bank robbery, helps with a breakout plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight Express (1978)
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of a country. The courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Concrete Jungle (1982)
An unfortunate and naive girl is set up by her boyfriend and convicted of drug smuggling. She is sent to a women's correctional facility where she must constantly struggle to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrison Break: The Final Break (2009)
Michael and Sara wed, but the happiness is short-lived when the Feds apprehend her for the murder of Michael's mother, Christina. Once a hit is ordered on Sara, the team reunite to break out the increasingly vulnerable target.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNowhere to Run (1993)
Escaped convict Sam Gillen single-handedly takes on ruthless developers who are determined to evict a widow with two young children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
A World War I veteran’s dreams of becoming a master architect evaporate in the cold light of economic realities. Things get even worse when he’s falsely convicted of a crime and sent to work on a chain gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAriel (1988)
A Finnish man goes to the city to find a job after the mine where he worked is closed and his father commits suicide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrouble in Paradise (1932)
Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette's personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight World (1932)
"Happy" MacDonald and his unfaithful wife own a Prohibition era night club. On this eventful night, he is threatened by bootleggers, and the club's star dancer falls in love with a young socialite who drinks to forget a personal tragedy, among other incidents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Strange Justice (1932)
Socialite banker Henry Judson maintains his extravagant lifestyle by embezzling from his bank, but is caught by sleazy assistant manager Waters and is blackmailed by him into continuing. Close to being found out, the two devise a scheme which sends Wally, the ex-con boyfriend of pretty hat check girl Rose Abbott, to death row.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tarnished Lady (1931)
Nancy Courtney, a once wealthy socialite, has had to struggle to maintain a facade of prosperity ever since her father's death. Although she loves writer DeWitt Taylor, who is indifferent to amassing a fortune, her mother urges her to marry stockbroker Norman Cravath instead. Nancy acquiesces to her mother's wishes but, despite the fact her new husband does everything he can to please her, she is miserable in her marriage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
They Learned About Women (1930)
Jack and Jerry are doing okay between profession baseball and Vaudeville. That is, until love and gold-diggers get in the way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Freaks (1932)
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican History X (1998)
Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAll Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this48 Hrs. (1982)
A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him, in order to track down a killer.
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 Numbered Men?
The closest matches to Numbered Men are The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Big House (1930) and The Unforgivable (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Numbered Men?
Start with The Shawshank Redemption (1994), the closest match to Numbered Men.
What is the highest-rated movie like Numbered Men?
The Shawshank Redemption (1994), rated 8.7/10 by 31,804 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Numbered Men?
Wasteman (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Numbered Men?
Yes: The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Big House (1930) and The Unforgivable (2021).
How are movies similar to Numbered Men chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Numbered Men, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.