Movies like Woman in the Dark (1934)
The best movies like Woman in the Dark (1934) are A Perfect World (1993), Brute Force (1947) and Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954). If Woman in the Dark 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 ratedRio Bravo (1959)7.8/10 from 1,319 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
A 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 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 thisI Want to Live! (1958)
Brazen perpetual offender Barbara Graham tries to go straight but she finds herself implicated in a murder and sent to death row.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIt Always Rains on Sunday (1947)
During a rainy Sunday afternoon, an escaped prisoner tries to hide out at the home of his ex-fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.
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 thisCry 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 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 thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe House on Carroll Street (1988)
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdopt a Highway (2019)
Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOutside In (2018)
An ex-con struggling to readjust to life in his small town forms an intense bond with his former high-school teacher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrontera (2014)
After crossing the border illegally for work, Miguel, a hard-working father and devoted husband, finds himself wrongfully accused of murdering a former sheriff’s wife. After learning of his imprisonment, Miguel’s pregnant wife tries to come to his aid and lands in the hands of corrupt coyotes who hold her for ransom. Dissatisfied with the police department’s investigation, the former sheriff tries to uncover the truth about his wife’s death and discovers disturbing evidence that will destroy one family’s future, or tear another’s apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHome (2021)
An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTalhotBlond (2012)
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLone Star (1996)
When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Limey (1999)
The Limey follows Wilson, a tough English ex-con who travels to Los Angeles to avenge his daughter's death. Upon arrival, Wilson goes to task battling Valentine and an army of L.A.'s toughest criminals, hoping to find clues and piece together what happened. After surviving a near-death beating, getting thrown from a building and being chased down a dangerous mountain road, the Englishman decides to dole out some bodily harm of his own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Informer (2019)
In New York, former convict Pete Koslow, related to the Polish mafia, must deal with both Klimek the General, his ruthless boss, and the twisted ambitions of two federal agents, as he tries to survive and protect the lives of his loved ones.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Great Silence (1968)
A mute gunslinger fights in the defense of a group of outlaws and a vengeful young widow, against a group of ruthless bounty hunters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisC(r)ook (2004)
A killer for the Russian Mafia in Vienna wants to retire and write a book about his passion - cooking. The mafia godfather suspects treason.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHome Alone da Riber (2002)
Rudolf is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. He attempted to escape many times but was unsuccessfull, he realizes that he is in for the long haul and decides that his wife Sandra should remarry for the sake of their children Melody and Mark who have been made to believe anyway that he is already dead. Many years has been passed he was informed that the real culprit has been caught and he is being released. However, instead of being happy, he is saddened by the fact that he cannot go back to his family anymore. Nevertheless he pretends to be a piano tuner so that he can visit his children.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
I've Loved You So Long (2008)
A woman struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Fish Called Wanda (1988)
While a diamond advocate attempts to steal a collection of diamonds, troubles arise when he realises he’s not the only one after the collection.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Impostor (1984)
After being released from prison, small-time con artist Cade tracks down his old girlfriend. When she rebuffs him, he fakes his past in order to get hired as the principal of the school where she teaches, in the hopes of winning her back. Cade soon begins to take a sincere interest in the welfare of his students, and enlists the help of his friend Matthew to break a drug-dealing network that has infested the school.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Men Call It Love (1931)
Pre-code melodrama about high society marriage and fidelity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rio Bravo (1959)
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Woman in the Dark?
The closest matches to Woman in the Dark are A Perfect World (1993), Brute Force (1947) and Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Woman in the Dark?
Start with A Perfect World (1993), the closest match to Woman in the Dark.
What is the highest-rated movie like Woman in the Dark?
Rio Bravo (1959), rated 7.8/10 by 1,319 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Woman in the Dark?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Woman in the Dark?
Yes: A Perfect World (1993), Brute Force (1947) and Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954).
How are movies similar to Woman in the Dark chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Woman in the Dark, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.