Movies like The Shanghai Gesture (1941)
The best movies like The Shanghai Gesture (1941) are The Woman on Pier 13 (1950), The Pretender (1947) and No Questions Asked (1951). If The Shanghai Gesture 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 Lady from Shanghai (1947)7.3/10 from 764 votes
- NewestWinter's Tale (2014)Released 2014
The Woman on Pier 13 (1950)
Communists blackmail a shipping executive into spying for them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
The Pretender (1947)
Story of an investment agent who embezzles a large sum from an estate, hoping to cover his crime by marrying the estate's heiress. The girl is already engaged, so he arranges to have the fiance killed. A mix up involving the society section of the newspaper places him in the sights of his own hired gun.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
No Questions Asked (1951)
With the help of some seedy gangsters, young attorney Steve Keiver makes some quick cash by bending the law, and in the process, he impresses the mobsters so much that they invite him to work for them on a regular basis. But when Police Inspector Matt Duggan realizes that Steve is working as a middleman for the mob, the young lawyer finds himself in a life-threatening situation. In order to clear his name, he must betray the deadly crooks he's been working for.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Cry Vengeance (1954)
Ex-cop Vic Barron crossed the wrong mobsters; his wife and child were killed and he was scarred, framed, and imprisoned. On release, Vic has but one desire, revenge on still-hiding Tino Morelli.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Dark City (1950)
War hero Danny Haley fleeces out-of-town dupes in a rigged poker game. He and his pals see Arthur Winant as an easy mark, but they've reckoned without Winant's homicidal brother, who wants revenge after Arthur commits suicide.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lady from Shanghai (1947)
A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlunder Road (1957)
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAngels Over Broadway (1940)
Small-time businessman Charles Engle is threatened with exposure for embezzling $3,000 for his free-spending wife. Deciding on suicide, he scribbles a note, stuffs it in his pocket and goes for one last night on the town. He is pulled into a poker game by conman Bill O'Brien and singer Nina Barone, but when they discover the dropped note, they resolve to turn the tables, get Engle his $3,000 and save his life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
The Breaking Point (1950)
A fisherman with money problems hires out his boat to transport criminals.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMacao (1952)
Nick Cochran, an American in exile in Macao, has a chance to restore his name by helping capture an international crime lord. Undercover, can he mislead the bad guys and still woo the attractive singer/petty crook, Julie Benson?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Won't Believe Me (1947)
On trial for murdering his girlfriend, philandering stockbroker Larry Ballentine takes the stand to claim his innocence and describe the actual, but improbable sounding, sequence of events that led to her death.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetour (1945)
The life of Al Roberts, a pianist in a New York nightclub, turns into a nightmare when he decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to visit his girlfriend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAppointment with Danger (1950)
Al Goddard, a detective who works for the United States Postal Inspection Service, is assigned to arrest two criminals who've allegedly murdered a U.S. postal detective.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Moontide (1942)
After a drunken night out, a longshoreman thinks he may have killed a man.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDanger Signal (1945)
After robbing and murdering his married lover and then staging her death to look like suicide, conniving philanderer Ronnie Mason relocates to Los Angeles. Under a new identity and claiming to be a writer, Ronnie finds lodging at the home of Hilda Fenchurch and her mother. He woos Hilda, knowing she has money, but when he discovers that Hilda's sister, Anne, has just inherited $25,000, he switches his attentions to her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Johnny O'Clock (1947)
When an employee at an illegal gambling den dies suspiciously, her sister, Nancy, looks into the situation and falls for Johnny O'Clock, a suave partner in the underground casino. Selfish and non-committal by nature, Johnny slowly begins to return Nancy's affection and decides to run away with her, but conflict within his business threatens their plans. As Johnny tries to distance himself from the casino, his shady past comes back to haunt him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Las Vegas Story (1952)
When newlyweds visit Las Vegas, the wife's shady past comes to the surface.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Scandal Sheet (1952)
A tabloid editor assigns a young reporter to solve a murder the editor committed himself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bribe (1949)
United States Federal agent Rigby travels to the Central American island Carlotta to investigate a stolen aircraft engines smuggling racket.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
When Strangers Marry (1944)
A naive small-town girl comes to New York City to meet her husband, and discovers that he may be a murderer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & crime
Phantom Lady (1944)
A devoted secretary embarks on a dangerous mission to try to find the elusive woman who may prove her boss didn't murder his wife.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHuman Desire (1954)
A Korean War vet returns to his job as a railroad engineer and becomes involved in a sordid affair with a co-worker's wife following a murder on a train.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTight Spot (1955)
A former model, serving time in prison, becomes a key witness in a trial against a notorious gangster. She is put under protective watch by the District Attorney in a posh hotel, but the crime kingpin makes attempts to get to her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Hollow Triumph (1948)
Pursued by the big-time gambler he robbed, John Muller assumes a new identity—with unfortunate results.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Letter (1940)
After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhile the City Sleeps (1956)
Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFallen Angel (1945)
An unemployed drifter, Eric Stanton wanders into a small California town and begins hanging around the local diner. While Eric falls for the lovely waitress Stella, he also begins romancing a quiet and well-to-do woman named June Mills. Since Stella isn't interested in Eric unless he has money, the lovelorn guy comes up with a scheme to win her over, and it involves June. Before long, murder works its way into this passionate love triangle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
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 & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWinter's Tale (2014)
A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Shanghai Gesture?
The closest matches to The Shanghai Gesture are The Woman on Pier 13 (1950), The Pretender (1947) and No Questions Asked (1951). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Shanghai Gesture?
People who watched The Shanghai Gesture most often go on to The Woman on Pier 13 (1950), The Pretender (1947) and No Questions Asked (1951).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Shanghai Gesture?
The Lady from Shanghai (1947), rated 7.3/10 by 764 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Shanghai Gesture?
Winter's Tale (2014) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Shanghai Gesture?
Yes: The Woman on Pier 13 (1950), The Pretender (1947) and No Questions Asked (1951).
How are movies similar to The Shanghai Gesture chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Shanghai Gesture, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.