Movies like The Smuggler (1912)
The best movies like The Smuggler (1912) are Frontera (2014), The Proud Rebel (1958) and The Last Sunset (1961). If The Smuggler hooked you with its western and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Smuggler
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEl Dorado (1966)7.4/10 from 619 votes
- NewestBroke (2025)Released 2025
Frontera (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 western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Proud Rebel (1958)
Searching for a doctor who can help him get his son to speak again--the boy hadn't uttered a word since he saw his mother die in the fire that burned down the family home--a Confederate veteran finds himself facing a 30-day jail sentence when he's unfairly accused of starting a brawl in a small town. A local woman pays his fine, providing that he works it off on her ranch. He soon finds himself involved in the woman's struggle to keep her ranch from a local landowner who wants it--and whose sons were responsible for the man being framed for the fight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Sunset (1961)
At a Mexican ranch, fugitive O'Malley and pursuing Sheriff Stribling agree to help rancher Breckenridge drive his herd into Texas where Stribling could legally arrest O'Malley, but Breckenridge's wife complicates things.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBroke (2025)
A bronc rider in denial about his fading rodeo career battles against brain injury and a sudden blizzard while reflecting on how it became so difficult to achieve his dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Missouri Breaks (1976)
When vigilante land baron David Braxton hangs one of the best friends of cattle rustler Tom Logan, Logan's gang decides to get even by purchasing a small farm next to Braxton's ranch. From there the rustlers begin stealing horses, using the farm as a front for their operation. Determined to stop the thefts at any cost, Braxton retains the services of eccentric sharpshooter Robert E. Lee Clayton, who begins ruthlessly taking down Logan's gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRun for Cover (1955)
An ex-convict drifter and his flawed young partner are made sheriff and deputy of a Western town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForty Guns (1957)
An authoritarian rancher rules an Arizona county with her private posse of hired guns. When a new Marshal arrives to set things straight, the cattle queen finds herself falling for the avowedly non-violent lawman. Both have itchy-fingered brothers, a female gunman enters the picture, and things go desperately wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJane Got a Gun (2015)
After her outlaw husband returns home shot with eight bullets and barely alive, Jane reluctantly reaches out to an ex-lover who she hasn't seen in over ten years to help her defend her farm when the time comes that her husband's gang eventually tracks him down to finish the job.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLast Shoot Out (2021)
Soon after a newlywed learns that her husband had her father shot down, she flees from the Callahan ranch in fear. She's rescued by a gunman who safeguards her at a remote outpost as he staves off her husband's attempts to reclaim his bride.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAppaloosa (2008)
Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Grit (1969)
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of getting the job done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEl Dorado (1966)
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Harrah. Together with a fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOld Henry (2021)
A widowed farmer and his son warily take in a mysterious, injured man with a satchel of cash. When a posse of men claiming to be the law come for the money, the farmer must decide who to trust. Defending a siege of his homestead, the farmer reveals a talent for gun-slinging that surprises everyone calling his true identity into question.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnion Pacific (1939)
One of the last bills signed by President Lincoln authorizes pushing the Union Pacific Railroad across the wilderness to California. But financial opportunist Asa Barrows hopes to profit from obstructing it. Chief troubleshooter Jeff Butler has his hands full fighting Barrows' agent, gambler Sid Campeau; Campeau's partner Dick Allen is Jeff's war buddy and rival suitor for engineer's daughter Molly Monahan. Who will survive the effort to push the railroad through at any cost?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMan in the Shadow (1957)
In a modern cow town, the powerful ranch owner’s henchmen kill a ranch hand, prompting the sheriff to investigate despite facing strong opposition. He finds an unlikely ally in the rancher's overprotected daughter, but their quest for justice puts them both in danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Come Knocking (2005)
Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his selfish and failed life with alcohol, drugs and young women. If he were to die now, nobody would shed a tear over him, that's the sad truth. Until one day Howard learns that he might have a child somewhere out there...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJubal (1956)
Jubal Troop is a cowboy who is found in a weakened condition, without a horse. He is given shelter at Shep Horgan's large ranch, where he quickly makes an enemy in foreman Pinky, a cattleman who accuses Jubal of carrying the smell of sheep.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbarosa (1982)
Karl Westover, an inexperienced farm boy, runs away after unintentionally killing a neighbor, whose family pursues him for vengeance. He meets Barbarosa, a gunman of near-mythical proportions, who is himself in danger from his father-in-law Don Braulio, a wealthy Mexican rancher. Don Braulio wants Barbarosa dead for marrying his daughter against the father's will. Barbarosa reluctantly takes the clumsy Karl on as a partner, as both of them look to survive the forces lining up against them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
SnoozefestMovies like thisEl Gringo (2012)
A man crossing into Mexico with a satchel of $2,000,000—and a bloody past—finds himself under sudden attack in the sleepy town of El Fronteras.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoss Nigger (1975)
Two black bounty hunters ride into a small town out West in pursuit of an outlaw. They discover that the town has no sheriff, and soon take over that position, much against the will of the mostly white townsfolk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both western
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMockingbird (2010)
A young father listens to his wife soothing their newborn child over the baby monitor. What could possibly go wrong?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Dungeon (1912)
A newly married couple moves into a house. But the bride disappears.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mei Mei (2010)
Lulu, a high class prostitute, receives constant visits from her neighbor Julian. He believes that she is his missing ex-girlfriend Mei Mei and begs her for a chance to start over again. Lulu rejects him, thinking that he is just making up stories to win her over. She tells him she never wants to see him again, but soon she misses him. It may be too late as she discovers that Julian is with somebody that looks exactly like her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Passenger (2012)
You may look at it like “It is about a woman in a jeepney who keeps on babbling – sharing her ideals and personal issues – as if you are listening to a live commentary and an audio diary at the same time” or “The passenger(s), the driver, the 10 Commandments, the window, the high tech lifestyle and the high tech love life, the rumors, the government, the reality TV shows, Death, the family…”
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Waiting (2011)
A story of a determined woman and her journey through life under the backdrop of the various landscapes of Pampanga. She brings with her a wooden casket for her husband, a victim of political killings. The film is a journey in search for truth and personal triumph through the challenges of life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Girl with the Yellow Stockings (2008)
A young couple is spending the day in bed. He asks her to marry him. She says no...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Maquetas (2009)
The testimonies of three forgotten victims whose lives have changed due to a common tragedy. A tragedy of unimaginable dimensions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Don Pepe Popi (2012)
The Venga Monjas face a terrible creative challenge: to make a video in honor of a woman's deceased daughter. They only have a character the girl had drawn and the name Don Pepe Popi to begin with.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bolero (2012)
Fractured account of a boy who breaks free from his miserable life after meeting a mysterious girl who lives in the wall, all set to the entirety of Ravel's 'Bolero'.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Friendly Advice (1916)
This silent French film begins with Georges feeling miserable, as he has ambitions of being a great musician but is forced to eke out a living giving lessons. So, he writes a friend to ask his advice. The friend tries to remake Georges and make him a bit of a playboy. However, when it comes to wooing a rich American, the advice is not exactly perfect.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Smuggler?
The closest matches to The Smuggler are Frontera (2014), The Proud Rebel (1958) and The Last Sunset (1961). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Smuggler?
Start with Frontera (2014), the closest match to The Smuggler.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Smuggler?
El Dorado (1966), rated 7.4/10 by 619 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Smuggler?
Broke (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Smuggler?
Yes: Frontera (2014), The Proud Rebel (1958) and The Last Sunset (1961).
How are movies similar to The Smuggler chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Smuggler, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.