Movies like The Defense Rests (1934)
The best movies like The Defense Rests (1934) are They Made Me a Fugitive (1947), Each Dawn I Die (1939) and Plunder Road (1957). If The Defense Rests 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 Asphalt Jungle (1950)7.5/10 from 562 votes
- NewestIslands (2025)Released 2025
They 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 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 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 thisIslands (2025)
In this twisty thriller, a tennis coach at a tropical resort finds himself at the center of a missing persons mystery. Tom teaches tennis during the day and parties at night. When an enigmatic tourist arrives, Tom is unable to shake the feeling he has met her before. Tension and attraction grow, until her husband disappears, and the police suspect Tom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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 drama & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisPitfall (1948)
An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisNational Theatre Live: Prima Facie (2022)
Tessa is a young, brilliant barrister. From working class origins, she has reached the top of her game. An unexpected event forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisThe File on Thelma Jordon (1949)
Cleve Marshall, an assistant district attorney, falls for Thelma Jordon, a mysterious woman with a troubled past. When Thelma becomes a suspect in her aunt's murder, Cleve tries to clear her name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWoman of Straw (1964)
Anthony Richmond schemes to get the fortune of his tyrannical, wheelchair-using tycoon uncle Charles Richmond by persuading Maria, a nurse he employs, to marry him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dark Corner (1946)
Ex-con turned private investigator Bradford Galt suspects someone is following him and maybe even trying to kill him. With the assistance of his spunky secretary, Kathleen Stewart, he dives deep into a mystery in search of answers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Caesar (1931)
A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFramed (1947)
Truck driver Mike Lambert is a down-and-out mining engineer searching for a job. When his rig breaks down in a small town, he happens upon a venomous seductress. When her boyfriend robs a bank, they intend to frame Lambert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blue Gardenia (1953)
Upon waking up to the news that the man she’d gone on a date with the previous night has been murdered, a young woman with only a faint memory of the night’s events begins to suspect that she murdered him while attempting to resist his advances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Young Philadelphians (1959)
Up and coming young lawyer Anthony Lawrence faces several ethical and emotional dilemmas as he climbs the Philadelphia social ladder. His personal and professional skills are tested as he tries to balance the needs of his fiance Joan, the expectations of his colleagues and his own obligation to defend his friend Chester on a murder count.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHell or High Water (2016)
A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDangerous Millions (1946)
Eight strangers meet in Shanghai to stake claims to the fortune of a late shipping magnate, then must evade a murderer in their midst.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Young Donovan's Kid (1931)
A crusader tries to keep a dope dealer from corrupting children.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Noose (1948)
Set in post Second World War Britain, Noose is the story of black market racketeers who face attempts to bring them to justice by an American fashion journalist, her ex-army fiancée and a gang of honest toughs from a local gym. When a corpse turns up at black market front The Blue Moon Club, Yank reporter Carole Landis starts snooping, much to gang boss Joseph Calleia’s annoyance. And soon there’s a hit man on the way...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Animal (2023)
The hardened son of a powerful industrialist returns home after years abroad and vows to take bloody revenge on those threatening his father's life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlindspot (2008)
A sexy, psychological film noir which features the story of a man who is sucked into the psychological web of two women on the run. On the run from themselves and from their past. One - wild, tempestuous and adulterous, the other - introverted, bitter and revengeful. Only the dance is pure - with the gun loaded.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Hidden Enemy (1940)
Reporter vs. German spies and their new metal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Shock (1946)
In this thriller, psychiatrist Dr. Cross kills his wife and expects to get away with murder, until he discovers that the slaying was observed by a next-door neighbor, Janet Stewart. As Janet attempts to convince her husband of the doctor's dastardly deed, Cross shows up to advise him that Janet is in dire need of some in-depth counseling.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLet's Stop at the Morgue (2021)
Jackie (Ken May), a morgue worker in a small town leads a personal life of chaos and violence! As more than half of the bodies coming through the morgue, are by his helping hand. This killer may think he's going about his murders under the radar, but a small town disgraced Detective (Shane Ryan) is hot on his trail.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Money Monster (2016)
Financial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor takes over their studio.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Defense Rests?
The closest matches to The Defense Rests are They Made Me a Fugitive (1947), Each Dawn I Die (1939) and Plunder Road (1957). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Defense Rests?
Start with They Made Me a Fugitive (1947), the closest match to The Defense Rests.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Defense Rests?
The Asphalt Jungle (1950), rated 7.5/10 by 562 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Defense Rests?
Islands (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Defense Rests?
Yes: They Made Me a Fugitive (1947), Each Dawn I Die (1939) and Plunder Road (1957).
How are movies similar to The Defense Rests chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Defense Rests, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.