Movies like The Long Goodbye (1973)
The best movies like The Long Goodbye (1973) are Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), After the Thin Man (1936) and The Thin Man (1934). If The Long Goodbye hooked you with its mystery and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMemento (2000)8.2/10 from 17,018 votes
- NewestGringo (2018)Released 2018
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
A petty thief posing as an actor is brought to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition and finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation along with his high school dream girl and a detective who's been training him for his upcoming role...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfter the Thin Man (1936)
After returning to San Francisco, Nick and Nora Charles are drawn into the disappearance of Nora’s cousin’s husband. When he is found murdered, suspicion falls on the troubled family, and Nick reluctantly resumes his detective work. With Nora eagerly at his side, the pair follows a trail of jealousy, blackmail, secret relationships, and long-buried family scandals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Thin Man (1934)
Former detective Nick Charles has retired from police work, preferring a life of cocktails, parties, and relaxation with his wealthy wife, Nora. Their holiday is interrupted when the daughter of Nick’s former client asks for help finding her missing father, eccentric inventor Clyde Wynant. When Wynant’s body is discovered, Nick is drawn back into the investigation, with Nora eagerly joining him. As the couple questions Wynant’s family, friends, and business associates, a tangled web of greed, deception, and murder begins to unravel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Big Sleep (1946)
Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like this2 Days in the Valley (1996)
In a sleepy bedroom community of LA's San Fernando Valley, the murder of a professional athlete by two hit men sets into motion a chain of events that puts the mundane lives of a dozen residents on a collision course. This clever tale tells the story of two hit men, a mistress, a nurse, a vindictive ex-wife, a wealthy art dealer and his lovelorn assistant, a suicidal writer and his dog, and a bitter cop and his partner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Nice Guys (2016)
A private eye investigates the apparent suicide of a fading porn star in 1970s Los Angeles and uncovers a conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChina Moon (1994)
Detective Kyle Bodine falls for Rachel Munro who is trapped in a violent marriage. After she shoots her husband, Kyle relucantly agrees to help hide the body, but his partner is showing an unusual flair for finding clues.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiss the Girls (1997)
Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisL.A. Confidential (1997)
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeven Psychopaths (2012)
A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNarc (2002)
Narcotics Sergeant Nick Tellis, on leave after a trauma, is called back to investigate the murder of fellow undercover operative Michael Calvess, joined by the victim's unpredictable and brutal ex-partner, Henry Oak. Working together in the back alleys of Detroit, Tellis and Oak delve into a dark investigation that leads them to uncover shocking secrets and question the corruption and morality within the department, encountering unorthodox methods and a brutal truth about Calvess's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrooked House (2017)
A private investigator helps a former flame solve the murder of her wealthy grandfather, who lived in a sprawling estate surrounded by his idiosyncratic family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Velvet (1986)
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlong Came a Spider (2001)
After the harrowing death of his partner, forensic psychologist and best-selling author Alex Cross cannot forgive himself and has retreated to the peace of retirement. But when a brilliant criminal kidnaps a senator's young daughter, he is lured back into action as the kidnapper wants to deal with Alex personally. Teamed with Jezzie Flanigan, the Secret Service agent assigned to protect the missing girl, Alex follows a serpentine trail of clues that leads him to a stunning discovery - the kidnapper wants more than just ransom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSolace (2015)
A psychic doctor, John Clancy, works with an FBI special agent in search of a serial killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTightrope (1984)
Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer whose victims are young and pretty women. The murders are getting personal when the killer chooses victims who are acquaintances of Block. Even his daughters are threatened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGringo (2018)
An American businessman with a stake in a pharmaceutical company that's about to go public finds his life is thrown into turmoil by an incident in Mexico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisStarsky & Hutch (2004)
Join uptight David Starsky and laid-back Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson as they're paired for the first time as undercover cops. The new partners must overcome their differences to solve an important case with help from street informant Huggy Bear and persuasive criminal Reese Feldman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Heat (2013)
Uptight and straight-laced, FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn is a methodical investigator with a reputation for excellence--and hyper-arrogance. Shannon Mullins, one of Boston P.D.'s "finest," is foul-mouthed and has a very short fuse, and uses her gut instinct and street smarts to catch the most elusive criminals. Neither has ever had a partner, or a friend for that matter. When these two wildly incompatible law officers join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they become the last thing anyone expected: buddies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover that the shooting is associated with a series of "alphabet" robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good German (2006)
An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisLucky Number Slevin (2006)
Slevin is mistakenly put in the middle of a personal war between the city’s biggest criminal bosses. Under constant watch, Slevin must try not to get killed by an infamous assassin and come up with an idea of how to get out of his current dilemma.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop (1984)
Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Important Witness (1933)
A freelance stenographer is hired for a job, but when she arrives at the address she was given, she finds that a murder has taken place there--and she is arrested for it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
The Interpreter (2005)
After Silvia Broome, an interpreter at United Nations headquarters, overhears plans of an assassination, an American Secret Service agent is sent to investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJackie Brown (1997)
Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSin City (2005)
Welcome to Sin City. This town beckons to the tough, the corrupt, the brokenhearted. Some call it dark… Hard-boiled. Then there are those who call it home — Crooked cops, sexy dames, desperate vigilantes. Some are seeking revenge, others lust after redemption, and then there are those hoping for a little of both. A universe of unlikely and reluctant heroes still trying to do the right thing in a city that refuses to care.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)
Some of Sin City's most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Be or Not to Be (1942)
During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMemento (2000)
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
Like The Long Goodbye and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Long Goodbye?
The closest matches to The Long Goodbye are Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), After the Thin Man (1936) and The Thin Man (1934). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Long Goodbye?
Start with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), the closest match to The Long Goodbye.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Long Goodbye?
Memento (2000), rated 8.2/10 by 17,018 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Long Goodbye?
Gringo (2018) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Long Goodbye?
Yes: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), After the Thin Man (1936) and The Thin Man (1934).
How are movies similar to The Long Goodbye chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Long Goodbye, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.