Movies like Only the Dead Can Answer (1969)
The best movies like Only the Dead Can Answer (1969) are Nightfall (1956), The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) and Girls to Buy (2021). If Only the Dead Can Answer hooked you with its crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLe Trou (1960)8.2/10 from 614 votes
- NewestGuns & Moses (2025)Released 2025
Nightfall (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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
A mystery writer is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose dead body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, in order to learn more about the man. Along the way he is joined by the mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirls to Buy (2021)
Based on a true story, Emi — a young, ambitious girl, dreams about life outside her small town. When an opportunity arises to become an exclusive escort, she jumps in without hesitation. Soon she climbs the ranks and starts her own VIP escort service; recruiting Polish celebrities, actors, singers, and models. However, the luxurious and enticing world eventually shows its dark side.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Plagues of Breslau (2018)
Every day at 6 pm a serial killer kills another person. Police officer Helena Rus thinks the killings are done by one man only and decides to reveal the killer's identity by getting back in 18th century history of the city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe November Man (2014)
An ex-CIA operative is brought back in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil in a deadly game involving high level CIA officials and the Russian president-elect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisAva (2020)
A black ops assassin is forced to fight for her own survival after a job goes dangerously wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisPickup on South Street (1953)
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Samantha Caine is a small-town schoolteacher and mom with no memory of her life before washing up on a beach eight years ago. After a car accident and a violent home invasion trigger flashes of her past, she discovers she used to be a deadly CIA assassin. Teaming up with a wisecracking private investigator, Samantha must return to her old ways to take down the people who tried to erase her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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 crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow I Fell in Love with a Gangster (2022)
A mysterious woman recounts the rise and fall of Nikodem "Nikoś" Skotarczak, one of the biggest gangsters in Poland's history. Inspired by a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNighthawks (1981)
When one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Two Jakes (1990)
Real estate developer Jake Berman hires private investigator and war veteran Jake Gittes for some run-of-the-mill matrimonial work. After Berman shoots his wife's lover, who happens to be his business partner, Gittes is drawn into a web of conspiracy and deceit involving the oil reserves beneath Los Angeles. While investigating, Gittes hears a voice from his past that causes him to revisit a traumatic case in Chinatown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady in the Lake (1946)
Private eye Phillip Marlowe wants to get out of the detective racket and into crime writing. But when he's called to the office of editor Adrienne Fromsett, it's not to talk about his story ideas — she wants him to locate the missing wife of her boss, Mr. Kingsby. The assignment quickly becomes complicated when bodies start turning up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnother Thin Man (1939)
Nick and Nora Charles are back - and this time, they have a baby, a wealthy new client, and another murder to solve! Retired detective Nick is enjoying family life with Nora and their young son, Nick Jr., when eccentric industrialist Colonel MacFay asks for protection after receiving threatening messages. When MacFay is found dead at his isolated estate, Nick and Nora spring into action, questioning a houseful of suspicious guests and uncovering greed, blackmail, family secrets, and a dangerous inheritance plot. With their trademark wit and sophistication, the glamorous couple balances parenthood, parties, and peril as they race to expose the killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStriking Distance (1993)
Demoted Pittsburgh cop Tom Hardy works river patrol while a serial killer targets women from his past, forcing him to conduct an unauthorized investigation to prove his innocence and expose a dirty cop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisSea of Love (1989)
Seen-it-all New York detective Frank Keller is unsettled - he has done twenty years on the force and could retire, and he hasn't come to terms with his wife leaving him for a colleague. Joining up with an officer from another part of town to investigate a series of murders linked by the lonely hearts columns he finds he is getting seriously and possibly dangerously involved with Helen, one of the main suspects.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Will Return (1961)
Adapted from Nikos Foskolos’ theatrical play. On a terribly stormy night, in a secluded hotel, the owner, Brigadier Norton, is murdered. Prime suspects: his daughter Elena, his second wife Liza, Liza’s niece and her fiancé, Norton’s physician, and the hotel staff. Inspector Fox and his assistant, policeman Petridis, are assigned the investigation of the crime. While the suspects’ questioning is under way, some more people arrive at the hotel: detective Tilemachos Christofis with his assistant Aliki, and lieutenant Karalis, a sworn enemy of the victim, complicating things even more.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Not For, or Against (Quite the Contrary) (2003)
"Ni Pour, Ni Contre" tracks the fall of a young TV camerawoman, Caty, after she becomes involved with a group of petty criminals and their enigmatic leader, Jean. The gang lives hand-to-mouth until the day Jean plans a daring bank robbery. Although other gang members feel out of their league, Jean persuades them to take part and Caty finds herself in a hellish world of betrayal, violence and murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSPL: Kill Zone (2005)
Chan, an articulate senior detective nearing the end of his career, is taking care of the daughter of a witness killed by ruthless crime lord Po. Martial arts expert Ma is set to take over as head of the crime unit, replacing Chan who wants an early retirement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe United States of Leland (2003)
A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison, a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie, must contend with their own problems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUndercover Bike Cop (2019)
Set in a future where crime is the law, a former cop and his supernaturally possessed bike partner go undercover to preserve justice. However, when a group of leather jacket goons steal the bike he must find a way to get it back from them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Le Trou (1960)
Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Absolute CinemaMovies 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: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVillain (1971)
In 1970s London, Scotland Yard orchestrates the downfall of mob boss Vic Dakin after he crosses the line by blackmailing Members of Parliament.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDisorder (2025)
After getting in debt with Russian gangsters, Nick is given one final chance to redeem himself: find a mysterious woman being protected by the Korean mafia. But finding her may cost him more than he ever imagined.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Guns & Moses (2025)
Mo Zaltzman is a beloved Hasidic rabbi in a dusty desert town. When his congregation is violently attacked, police quickly arrest a young white nationalist who threatened them in the past, but Rabbi Mo doesn’t believe the troubled teen is a killer. Since no one else will investigate, Rabbi Mo becomes the detective. As bodies pile up, he must learn how to use a gun to battle the real enemy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Only the Dead Can Answer?
The closest matches to Only the Dead Can Answer are Nightfall (1956), The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) and Girls to Buy (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Only the Dead Can Answer?
Start with Nightfall (1956), the closest match to Only the Dead Can Answer.
What is the highest-rated movie like Only the Dead Can Answer?
Le Trou (1960), rated 8.2/10 by 614 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Only the Dead Can Answer?
Guns & Moses (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Only the Dead Can Answer chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Only the Dead Can Answer, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.