Movies like Shadow of the Law (1926)
The best movies like Shadow of the Law (1926) are The Unforgivable (2021), Siberian Education (2013) and I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017). If Shadow of the Law 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 Unforgivable (2021)7.4/10 from 2,174 votes
- NewestGehenna (2025)Released 2025
The Unforgivable (2021)
A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSiberian Education (2013)
The story of a gang of children growing up in a community of banished criminals, in a forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union. This community rejects the world outside. The only law it obeys… is its own. Against this backdrop two best friends, Kolyma and Gagarin, gradually become fierce enemies as they find themselves on opposite sides of the strict code of honour of the ‘honest criminal’ brotherhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Believer (1989)
Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet. With Roger's idealistic prodding, Eddie reluctantly takes on a case of a young Korean man who, according to his mother, has been in jail for eight years for a murder he didn't commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisViolent Saturday (1955)
Three men case a small town very carefully, with plans to rob the bank on the upcoming Saturday, which turns violent and deadly.
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 thisThe Public Eye (1992)
A crime photographer gets involved in a conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Valachi Papers (1972)
When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Skin (2019)
A Marine veteran working as a school janitor tries to mend his relationship with his son after a divorce. When his son is killed by a police officer found innocent without standing trial, he takes matters into his own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRun (1991)
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Score to Settle (2019)
A former mob enforcer who is released from prison after serving 22 years for a crime he didn't commit sets out on a path for revenge against the people who wronged him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisThey 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 thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBelly (1998)
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo One Would Tell (1996)
Shy sixteen-year-old Stacy Collins can't believe that the most popular guy in school, an attractive athlete named Bobby Tennison, is interested in her. At first she is flattered by his constant attention, but then he becomes possessive and jealous-telling her who she can speak to and what she can wear. Threats escalate into violence when Bobby thinks Stacy has stepped out of line. Soon she is walking on egg shells and living in fear. Having seen the tell-tale bruises, Stacy's best friend convinces her to break things off with Bobby-but in a moment of weakness, Stacy goes to meet him. It will be the last time she is seen alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTalhotBlond (2012)
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hindoo's Curse (1912)
Adventurers Guy Randall and Jack Lowell flee English Army headquarters in India after being caught cheating. They follow their servant, Sukim, to a Hindu festival where they rob the temple's offering count and Randall steals a sacred jewel, despite Sukim's warning of a curse. The priests vow vengeance. Randall escapes to England, becomes a wealthy landowner, and forces an engaged Grace, daughter of impoverished Lord Leverton, to marry him. On his wedding night, the tracking Hindu avengers murder Randall, leaving Grace a widow free to marry her true love, Greyson.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
The Social Leper (1917)
A clairvoyant warns divorcée Adrienne Van Couver to beware of Robert Warren, whom she has spurned. The warning comes true after Adrienne's ex-husband, John Dean, meets Warren, an old friend, and tells him the story of his marriage to Adrienne. He tells how her frivolity and malice caused both the death of their only child, and after their divorce John’s romance with Lorraine Barkley who left him for lawyer Henry Armstrong. Enraged by Adrienne's treachery, Warren goes to her apartment and kills her. Dean arrives after Warren has fled and is arrested for the murder. Believing that Dean is innocent, Lorraine persuades Armstrong to defend him. After a last-minute confession by John is cleared.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Her Choice (1912)
Mrs. Letitia Summers, owner and principal of an exclusive boarding school, decides to give her two nieces an education while deciding which will be her heir unbeknownst to them. She writes each a letter, stating that a lady of means has provided for their education at Mrs. Summers' seminary. Edith and May are both delighted with the news, but while Edith leaves with her modest belongings May immediately demands a lot of new things to satisfy her vanity and desire to make a great impression. May attracts considerable attention upon her arrival but Edith, in her modest wardrobe, is received with disparaging remarks. Both do well in their studies but on graduation day Mrs. Summers calls the two girls into her private office and tells them that she is their aunt, and she has chosen Edith as her heir in recognition of her kindness and thoughtfulness towards others, particularly towards her poor mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gehenna (2025)
In this recently found and restored banned underground classic from 1984, four girls go into a bathroom to hide in the middle of a war and, after an impulsive act by one of them, they find themselves trapped there. As panic gives way to despair, tragedy approaches.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
In the Furnace Fire (1912)
John meets Mary and is invited to her home where he falls in love with her sister, Kate. They begin dating and John introduces her to his coworker Frank Johnson. Johnson lies, claiming John is a thief, causing Kate to leave John for Frank. John quits his job and leaves town, while Johnson marries Kate, but they are unhappy. Mary hires a detective who uncovers that Johnson is the real thief leading to his arrest while Mary informs John of his vindication. John returns, finds Kate denouncing Mary, and publicly rejects Kate by embracing Mary, revealing his true feelings for her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Game of Cards (1913)
A drama about a devoted daughter, Delia, and her mother, who has never stopped hoping for the return of her husband who disappeared years ago.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sisters All (1913)
Garment manufacturer Sergius cuts his workers' wages, prompting a protest led by two Russian sisters, Olga and Vera. Sergius's affluent daughters, Hattie and Helen, decide to support the workers' cause, moving into the sisters' tenement and joining the workforce, much to their father's dismay. In a dramatic turn, the daughters bring their work to the factory and confront Sergius. They make a final appeal to him in his office, where he eventually relents and agrees to meet the workers' demands. Following this victory, Hattie and Helen decide to return home to their father, and the good news is shared with all the factory girls, ending the story on a note of general rejoicing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Life's Yesterdays (1915)
Dalton, a promising young doctor, becomes infatuated with a dancer named La Stella who introduces him to drugs, and he becomes a morphine addict. His addiction leads to the death of a child due to a fatal medical error while he is under the influence, ultimately ruining his career.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Esterbrook Case (1915)
Paul Sturgess is engaged to Grace Van Austin. At a party at their Newport home, Grace flirts with Howard Esterbrook leading to a fight between the two men. Later that night, a servant witnesses Paul, with a revolver entering Esterbrook's room. The servant follows, sees a hand emerging from a window curtain, stab Esterbrook then vanish mysteriously. Paul is arrested based on circumstantial evidence. Six months later, a woman known as "The Woman of Mystery" is shot during a raid while trying to assist the police. Moved by hearing about Paul's denied pardon and impending execution, the "Woman of Mystery" reveals information to the detective leading the raid. This revelation leads to a call to the Sing Sing Warden just in time to halt Paul's electrocution.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Battle of Gettysburg (1913)
A young woman's sweetheart fights for the Union Army, while her brother fights for the Confederates.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Shadow of the Law?
The closest matches to Shadow of the Law are The Unforgivable (2021), Siberian Education (2013) and I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Shadow of the Law?
Start with The Unforgivable (2021), the closest match to Shadow of the Law.
What is the highest-rated movie like Shadow of the Law?
The Unforgivable (2021), rated 7.4/10 by 2,174 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Shadow of the Law?
Gehenna (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Shadow of the Law?
Yes: The Unforgivable (2021), Siberian Education (2013) and I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017).
How are movies similar to Shadow of the Law chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Shadow of the Law, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.