Movies like They Drive by Night (1938)
The best movies like They Drive by Night (1938) are The Glass Key (1942), Underworld U.S.A. (1961) and M (1951). If They Drive by Night hooked you with its crime and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)6.0/10 from 310 votes
- NewestBarron's Cove (2025)Released 2025
The 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 thisUnderworld U.S.A. (1961)
A bitter young man sets out to get back at the gangsters who murdered his father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisM (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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFootsteps in the Fog (1955)
A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisManiac (1963)
When a stranger enters a quiet, country town and is seduced by a sensuous married woman he unwittingly finds himself at the centre of a storm of sexual guilt and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Corrupted (2019)
Set ahead of the 2012 London Olympics, the film follows Liam, an ex-con trying to win back the love and trust of his family. He has lost everything at the hands of a local crime syndicate run by Clifford Cullen, who has high-level connections in politics, finance and the police force. Liam's drive for redemption sees him caught up in a web of conspiracy, crime, and corruption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTed Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021)
Set in a gritty and decadent 1970s America, American Boogeyman follows the elusive and charming killer and the manhunt that brought him to justice involving the detective and the FBI rookie who coined the phrase ‘serial killer’.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
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 thisSuburbicon (2017)
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisNightfall (1956)
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarron's Cove (2025)
When his young son is viciously murdered by a classmate, a grieving father with a history of violence kidnaps the child responsible, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by a powerful politician -- the father of the kidnapped boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReasonable Doubt (2014)
When up-and-coming District Attorney Mitch Brockden commits a fatal hit-and-run, he feels compelled to throw the case against the accused criminal who was found with the body and blamed for the crime. Following the trial, Mitch's worst fears come true when he realizes that he acquitted a guilty man, and he soon finds himself on the hunt for the killer before more victims pile up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe System (2022)
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his inexperienced brother assigned to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSection 8 (2022)
After avenging the murder of his family, a former soldier is sprung from prison and recruited by a shadowy government agency.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanic (2000)
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
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 thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLights Out (2024)
A drifting ex-soldier turns underground fighter with the help of a just-released ex-con, pitting him against corrupt cops and hired killers now gunning for him and all those he cares about.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Marker (2017)
Noir thriller about a criminal seeking redemption by tracking down the daughter of the woman he killed. Along the way he is haunted by his guilt in the guise of the woman's ghost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)
Bill Saunders, a former prisoner of war living in England, whose experiences have left him unstable and violent, gets into a bar fight in which he kills a man and then flees. He hides out with the assistance of a nurse, Jane Wharton, who believes his story that the killing was an accident.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Hell Drivers (1957)
An ex-con trying to go clean ends up working for a crooked trucking company owner who encourages competion amongst his drivers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Long Memory (1953)
An innocent man is released from prison after 12 years and tracks down the witnesses who lied about him in court.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Tiger in the Smoke (1956)
In wartime, a young officer is killed during a raid to kill a German general at the house that used to belong to his grandmother. Before he dies he talks about a treasure that was hidden there. Several years later, the members of that group are still together as a street band living in a cellar. The last of the gang, who was chosen for his skills as a ruthless killer, escapes from prison in a rampage of killing and, obsessed with the treasure, takes the gang to France to recover it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
The Ship That Died of Shame (1955)
After World War II the crew of a motor gunboat join together to buy their old vessel and go into business for themselves. This may sound like a laudable scheme, but the business they choose to go into is smuggling.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
The Saint's Return (1953)
A private detective goes after the people who murdered his girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
The Depraved (1957)
Fed up with her wealthy but abusive husband, Tom (Basil Dignam), young English homemaker Laura Wilton (Anne Heywood) conspires with her lover, American Army captain Dave Dillon (Robert Arden), to have her boozy spouse meet an "accidental" demise. But a nosy copper (Denis Shaw) suspects foul play, and soon the lovers' crafty scheme deteriorates into fear, distrust and betrayal. Paul Dickson directs this vintage noir thriller.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958)
A woman who lives in Spain has trouble convincing anybody that a complete stranger has taken her dead brother's identity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Long Knife (1958)
Young nurse Jill Holden gets involved with an extortion gang targeting Mrs Cheam, one of her patients. When Mrs. Cheam is murdered, Jill becomes a suspect and must clear her name.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
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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 The Glass Key (1942), Underworld U.S.A. (1961) and M (1951). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after They Drive by Night?
Start with The Glass Key (1942), the closest match to They Drive by Night.
What is the highest-rated movie like They Drive by Night?
The Truth About Emanuel (2013), rated 6.0/10 by 310 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like They Drive by Night?
Barron's Cove (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like They Drive by Night?
Yes: The Glass Key (1942), Underworld U.S.A. (1961) and M (1951).
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.